Is Reality TV really real?

Some are depends how you define Reality -

Reality TV has been around for quite a while and has amassed a huge following of viewers. Reality television programs, which feature real people engaged in real activities rather than professional actors performing scripted scenes, are increasingly popular. These shows depict ordinary people competing in everything from singing and dancing to losing weight, or just living their everyday lives. According to (She Knows) Reality TV Magazine the top Reality TV Shows are Amazing Race (CBS), America's Got Talent (NBC), American Idol (FOX), Celebrity Apprentice (NBC), Dancing with the Stars (ABC), Hell's Kitchen (FOX), Kate Plus 8 (TLC), Kitchen Nightmares (FOX), Project Runway (BRAVO), Real Housewives of Atlanta and Beverly Hills (BRAVO), So You Think You Can Dance (FOX), Survivor (CBS), The Bachelor (ABC), The Bachelorette (ABC), The Biggest Loser (NBC), Top Chef (BRAVO), and many, many more.

No. Everyone in the industry will even tell you that reality shows are NOT completely real. They'll make you repeat certain things over and over again until they get the shot that they want. what a lot of people are saying about the writers doesn't mean they actually write the entire script. For game shows like Survivor, of course they need writers. you need people to write the questions and the order of the games that will be presented in the show. Writers in reality show have to come up with a story for the duration of the show. They could tell you what to talk about or the kind of emotion to have, but they won't write out a script word for word for you. Editors could also manipulate the way you are presented in the show. They could make you look good or bad. Also writers in reality show have to make a story with the footage that is used. They take all of that to create a beginning, middle, and an end. I've seen an interview once of Lauren Conrad (from The Hills) and she said that one time she was actually crying, but the cameraman didn't catch her in time so they had to make her cry again. A friend of mine told me that the show that picks up your car if you didn't pay your bank loan would knock on the door before hand telling them that they're going to pick up their vehicle. I also know a few editors who work in reality television who say it's not complete reality.

NO... At the end of the very first episode of SURVIVOR (the very 1st reality TV show I watched), I noticed something, credits for WRITERS. So, you tell me, WHY does a reality TV show need WRITERS if it is unscripted as they CLAIM? They ALL use creative editing to play up a story line whether it exists or not, simply for dramatic effect... There is very little that is REAL in reality TV...

the NY Times did a good article a couple yrs back on How Reality shows are Staged/Set Up

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/02/business/media/0...

Most reality shows are fake. It's all in a script.

Not at all. Ever wonder why they have /writers/ in the credits for those shows?