The Real World of Reality TV: Worker Exploitation

[marmar]

(In These Times) On September 10, 16 editors on the Bravo reality show Shahs of Sunset walked off the job in Hollywood after informing their employer, Ryan Seacrest Productions, of their intentions to unionize. The next day, Bravo announced they would delay the premiere of the fourth season.

“We thought it was about time, in the fourth season of a popular show, to get health care and pension benefits,” says Vanessa Hughes, one of the editors seeking representation through the Motion Picture Editors Guild, a division of the International Association of Stage and Theatrical Employees (IATSE). “We thought it’d take a day or so of picketing.”

But on September 26, Bravo announced they would take over production of the show, and the striking editors would be fired—leading workers to believe that Bravo would complete the season with scabs.

None of the fired editors ever spoke directly with their bosses or the network, hearing about their termination through a press release. “We appreciate the passion, commitment and contributions these editors made to the fourth season of Shahs of Sunset,” Ryan Seacrest Productions wrote in a statement. ...................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/17254/reality_tv_production_workers_win_collective_bargaining

[brooklynite]

1. I'm not sure one instance constitutes "the real world of Reality TV"

Do you have evidence that this is a common pattern?

[marmar]

2. Don't know. i didn't write the article.

[The Magistrate]

3. Quite A Story, Sir

[countryjake]

4. K&R