According to the Indiana Daily Student and WTHR-TV 13 in Indianapolis, a new telecommunications seminar for freshmen at Indiana University takes college students inside reality TV, for better or worse.
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As far as subject matter, the seminar seems rather mundane. Terry says that its purpose is to focus on the economics, political science, ethics, law and culture behind the rise of reality TV. We think a quick scan through the archives of RealityTVWorld.com could answer all of those questions, although we doubt that we'd answer all of them the same way as Professor Terry, who seems to think that he's revealed a hidden truth when he says that "the business of TV is to link eyeballs and ears to advertisers." All we can say is: anyone for some Doritos and Coors Light?
To be fair, Professor Terry's 22 freshmen don't seem particularly media-savvy. Said one to WTHR-TV, "[S]o far we've learned that [reality TV is] not really real." Uh, right. We'd like to introduce these kids to Stacey Stillman from Survivor: Pulau Tiga ... and to the use of stand-ins and reshoots. Nevertheless, it would also be a mistake to think reality TV is all staged.
