Friday, March 26, 2010

Palin Power Coming to a TV Near You

Labels: , at 6:00 AM

I cringed when I heard the news, although I was not even remotely surprised. Sarah Palin's got her own reality TV show? Bad idea. I mean, to be completely honest, I actually "liked" Sarah Palin a whole lot. I thought that she was funny, I liked her personality, and I especially liked declaring how great she was in front of my dad, who stubbornly declared that he would "move back to Scotland if she were to be his VP." Nevertheless, I do not think that a TV show is the right track for her to go down. She can throw her dreams away of having any major political position now -- reality television seems to bring out the worst in everyone (besides Whitney Port of "The City", who is flawless). I believe that the reason for this is that when someone signs up for a reality TV show, they are signing over the rights to their reputation to a producer who is more interested with ratings and profits than with your public persona. The power of editing threatens to take comments out of context and make things appear as they were not -- in essence, creating drama, which is what viewers want to see.
According to Peter Liguori, COO for Discovery Communcations, Palin's show will "reveal Alaska's powerful beauty as it has never been filmed" (hopefully not describing Sarah). "Sarah Palin's Alaska" will be on the TLC, home of the once-popular "Jon and Kate Plus 8". Getting advertisers to sign up for the show has been a challenge so far, as brands are uneasy about taking the risk to advertise on such a controversial figure's show. "Conservative companies don't want to ruffle any feathers," said Ira Berger, director of national broadcast at the Richards Group. Nevertheless, Berger points out, "If you're the number seven brand in a six-company category, then why not shake it up and take a chance?" It will be interesting to see who signs on, that's for sure.
Whether people wanted her as their vice president or not, Palin does have quite a strong following -- her book "Going Rogue" sold over 1 million copies in its first month on the shelves. Not to mention her sustained position in entertainment magazines due to the scandal involving her daughter's ex-fiance (and father of her grandson) Levi Johnson, who made headlines with his racy pictures in "Playgirl" magazine. Sarah Palin: from maverick to reality TV star? 

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