BB13- obviously no S&P involved

[narzo]

I'll quickly summarize what is posted here:   http://forums.jokersupdates.com/ubbthreads/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Board=bbnewsandrumors&Number=16293022&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&rc=&fpart=1

in this BB13 recap of a conversation between two house-guests that reveals something  that Standards and Practices would NEVER allow on a traditional game show.  

One of the "contestants", Daniele, apparently knows 2 of the people in production (Daniel was a previous player who was invited back this season with 5 others).  She goes so far as to admit she even chatted with one right before she went into the house.  

I guess this goes back to the old question where is the line drawn between game show and reality/competition show which is a line I, quite frankly, don't even think should exist.

[Ian Wallis]

This is nothing new.  Years ago we heard rumours about producer manipluation of the outcomes on shows like Amazing Race and Survivor.  Although I don't think this is right, I don't really consider these to be game shows anyway.

[Kevin Prather]

In the case of a contestant making a return trip, it's reasonable to think that they have had previous contact with the production staff from their first appearance.

[Matt Ottinger]

Yeah, it's a different world than it was in the late fifties, and none of these reality-show producers think they're making a game show.  These shows are one step removed from pro wrestling, and the only thing holding them back is the fear of a public backlash if they go too far, something pro wrestling stopped worrying about long ago.

[clemon79]

For that matter, in a game like Big Brother, where the contestants are isolated and rarely if ever SEE anyone on the production staff, it particularly wouldn't matter as much as on a traditional game show.

[Mr. Brown]

One of the "contestants", Daniele, apparently knows 2 of the people in production (Daniel was a previous player who was invited back this season with 5 others).  She goes so far as to admit she even chatted with one right before she went into the house.  

I've got one even better - I have three friends who got on Trivial Pursuit: America Plays... like actual contestants in the studio (not the players at home). How'd that happen, you ask? Relationships with people who worked on the show.

S&P is a joke nowadays.

[chris319]

S&P is a joke nowadays.

Not entirely true. Trivial Pursuit: America Plays did not have an association with a station group that I know of. It is a different story with Jeopardy! and WOF which do have an association with the ABC station group. I would venture to say that ABC requires a compliance company (Sullivan) to oversee the production of those two shows in order to protect the ABC-owned station licenses. If I'm not mistaken, the ABC S&P department performed this function at one time.

Had there been proper oversight, Our Little Genius might have seen the light of day.

Network trivia: Back in the day, at CBS and ABC the departments in charge of game show practices and the language used on air were called Standards and Practices. At NBC, the department in charge of game show honesty was called Compliance and Practices, from which Sullivan Compliance derives its name (Tim Sullivan used to work at NBC Compliance and Practices). The department responsible for foul language was called Broadcast Standards.

Matt, does WKAR make you sign a 509 statement every year? :-) Don't laugh, I have to execute a 508 (payola) statement every year.

Interesting reading: http://www.cardozoaelj.net/issues/07/Podlas.pdf

[Matt Ottinger]

Matt, does WKAR make you sign a 509 statement every year?

Nope.  In fact, as I've mentioned before, it's not unusual at all for me to know some of the contestants outside the studio, mostly because I work at one of the participating schools.  We've also had the sons and daughters of WKAR staffers on the show.  There was some amount of concern at WKAR when I started my job at Okemos (we were three seasons into QuizBusters at that point) but never over any legal issues, they were just worried about appearances.  That fear quickly dissipated and there's never been the slightest hint of a problem.

[chris319]

There is no problem knowing the contestants provided you don't give them help with the quiz material.