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55
I think the thing about reality TV that I know about is that they need drama. So I
think when you see shows like that where there’s a publicist on it, I don’t know
how real it really is, because I don’t think you’d really be in business if your life
were like that everyday.
Respondent B also had similar thoughts, agreeing that dramatic people are picked to be
on reality television because it provides an entertainment value. “The most colorful
characters make good TV. Unfortunately, in PR, to follow the level-headed professional
would be boring television.” While these two answers suggest that dramatic people are
specifically cast to star in a reality role, so therefore the show itself is dramatic, the other
two respondents believe that the editing of footage creates dramatic scenes, but that the
people themselves are not dramatic. Respondent D stated:
I think most of the footage is real and the interactions between the people on the
show are real, but many of the interactions are heightened. They splice together
all of the significant moments from the taping of the show and that's what we see
on TV.
Respondent C had a similar viewpoint, but mentioned that her knowledge of the
entertainment industry has attributed to her belief that post-production editing altered
scenes that were otherwise not dramatic:
Having friends who work in the entertainment industry, I have been made to
believe that much of the footage in any type of reality show has been either
scripted or altered to seem more dramatic.
While two of the respondents maintained that reality television is dramatic
because they cast dramatic people, the other two believe that the shows consist of non-dramatic
characters, but that scenes were altered to show more drama. Although Ferris,
Smith, Greenberg, and Smith (2007) claimed that viewers saw reality stars as “real
people,” (p. 491) each respondent interviewed acknowledged that reality television is not
Object Description
| Title | Power party girls, good looking crowds and one hellish boss: The portrayal of the female entertainment publicist on reality television |
| Author | Hashem, Camille Renée |
| Author email | chashem@usc.edu; chashem87@gmail.com |
| Degree | Master of Arts |
| Document type | Thesis |
| Degree program | Public Relations |
| School | Annenberg School for Communication |
| Date defended/completed | 2011-04-01 |
| Date submitted | 2011 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2011-05-03 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Thorson, Kjerstin |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Floto, Jennifer Saltzman, Joseph |
| Abstract | This thesis is an examination of the portrayal of the female entertainment publicist shown in reality television. With the large success rate of Samantha Jones from Sex and the City in the 1990s, female interest in public relations has increased, and good or bad, Jones has served as one of the predominate images of the publicist in the entertainment industry. Those who have performed critical analysis of the image of the public relations practitioner have deemed these representations as showing negative characteristics of those in the profession. While there has been previous research on the image of public relations in media, analysis of the female entertainment publicist in reality television has been left untapped.; The project consisted of a content analysis as well as interviews with various women in entertainment public relations. Three reality television shows featuring female entertainment publicists were watched: MTV's PoweR Girls (2005), Bravo's Kell on Earth (2010) and E! Network's The Spin Crowd. After conducting this analysis, the author found that the female publicist is put in one of two gender categories, the masculine bitch or the overtly sexy "PR Bunny." Other findings inferred that the dominant images within each series suggested that public relations is overall an easy field to enter, with little or no experience or professionalism needed. Finally, although the three series had some subtle differences, public relations is still shown as a glamorous job.; Interviewee responses showed that the negative representations of entertainment publicists on reality television are not indicative of the real life job itself, but that media's representation of it has led others to believe false or skewed images of the profession. Since these three shows' target demographics include young women about make a career decision, the impact they may have on this demographic, and how it may affect the future of public relations and the expectations of those about the enter the industry, is also discussed. |
| Keyword | communication; entertainment; media; public relations; reality television |
| Geographic subject (country) | USA |
| Coverage date | 1990/2010 |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m3875 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Hashem, Camille Renée |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-Hashem-4503 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume26/etd-Hashem-4503.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 55 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 55 I think the thing about reality TV that I know about is that they need drama. So I think when you see shows like that where there’s a publicist on it, I don’t know how real it really is, because I don’t think you’d really be in business if your life were like that everyday. Respondent B also had similar thoughts, agreeing that dramatic people are picked to be on reality television because it provides an entertainment value. “The most colorful characters make good TV. Unfortunately, in PR, to follow the level-headed professional would be boring television.” While these two answers suggest that dramatic people are specifically cast to star in a reality role, so therefore the show itself is dramatic, the other two respondents believe that the editing of footage creates dramatic scenes, but that the people themselves are not dramatic. Respondent D stated: I think most of the footage is real and the interactions between the people on the show are real, but many of the interactions are heightened. They splice together all of the significant moments from the taping of the show and that's what we see on TV. Respondent C had a similar viewpoint, but mentioned that her knowledge of the entertainment industry has attributed to her belief that post-production editing altered scenes that were otherwise not dramatic: Having friends who work in the entertainment industry, I have been made to believe that much of the footage in any type of reality show has been either scripted or altered to seem more dramatic. While two of the respondents maintained that reality television is dramatic because they cast dramatic people, the other two believe that the shows consist of non-dramatic characters, but that scenes were altered to show more drama. Although Ferris, Smith, Greenberg, and Smith (2007) claimed that viewers saw reality stars as “real people,” (p. 491) each respondent interviewed acknowledged that reality television is not |
