Ever since University senior Nicole Ossey first watched MTV’s “The Real World” several years ago, she fell in love with reality TV and decided she’d be an ideal candidate for the show. The vivacious Portland native took the plunge a month ago and signed up online to be one of the next house mates for the show’s 22nd season, whose host city has yet to be determined.
While the show’s producers typically hold open casting calls via public auditions, this round of tryouts has proved to be not brand new, but somewhat unusual, and reflective of a changing entertainment industry.
Interested candidates must create a Web page featuring personal information, representative photos and blog responses to prompted questions. The first question posed asked applicants what their families would be most surprised to learn about them if they were cast. The application process also asks candidates to upload videos so voters can get to know them better.
After major success with the 20th season’s online casting Web site, MTV producers decided to try again with the popular voting method that drew a whole new audience of technologically savvy young people.
“You normally go either in person to open casting calls or you send in auditions of it,” Ossey said. “Usually it’s up to the producers of the show. That was the first time they let viewers and fans decide. If people feel like they’re a part of it more, like they have a say over how it’s produced, they’re more inclined to watch the show.”
Al Stavitsky, senior associate dean of the School of Journalism and Communication, said that although he hadn’t heard of this new technique to lure audiences to certain products or Web sites, he wasn’t surprised.
“Reality TV as a programming genre is no longer new and fresh,” Stavitsky said. “So the networks constantly need to come up with new approaches to keep it fresh and different.”
In a competitive market such as mass media, news stations and entertainment shows must constantly find new ways to expand audiences and keep products hip. With alternatives galore nowadays, stations can’t afford to lose viewers to competitor channels without the unfortunate possibility of low ratings or shutdown.
“The legacy programs like ‘Real World,’ ‘Survivor’ and ‘American Idol’ no longer rule the franchise,” Stavitsky said. “There are so many different flavors out there.”
Stavitsky added that “The Real World” may reinvent itself with a novel concept, like recruiting a new kind of contestants who are able to influence their friends and others in their age demographic. Stavitsky emphasized that this influence is key to networks looking to expand their audiences.
“It applies the whole phenomenon of viral communication to reality television,” Stavitsky said. “By viral communication or word of mouth; I mean the idea that these various phenomena are being spread not by the mass media but by word of mouth and social networks.”
For example, Stavitsky cited the now-infamous footage of “Saturday Night Live” actress Tina Fey imitating Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on live television. Nearly everyone has now seen the spoof, Stavitsky said, but only a fraction of those people originally saw it on SNL.
“The people who did see it blogged about it, put it on Facebook, YouTube and heard about it in other ways through other social networks,” Stavitsky said.
Ossey said a huge part of the experience has been the overwhelming support of her friends on campus. Often times when she walks into a room, a group of her friends will yell, “I voted for you today!” She encourages her peers to vote every 24 hours online so she can make it nationally and represent the University.
English Graduate Teaching Fellow Russell Meeuf said that although he’s not sure one person could represent such a big, diverse institution, he does believe having a contestant from the University on “The Real World” would unite the community.
“We’re starting to think about reality TV more as a new type of media,” Meeuf said. “Facebook is popular, particularly among young people, and we’re seeing a particular shift in focus of them creating their own sense of self through media, through reality. The new standard for skills for young people to have is not only strict media literacy skills but the ability to produce your own media.”
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