First-place CBS already had ratings, stars and lucrative franchises. That’s why this season the Tiffany network actively pursued the one thing it didn’t have: buzz.
But if it was pursuing the ‘Did you see Sanjaya’s ‘do’?’ or ‘Ooh, McDreamy!’ kind of water cooler buzz that’s not what it got. Instead, the net’s latest reality fare, a Lord of the Rings-like show titled Kid Nation, has garnered the “this is unethical and perhaps illegal” kind of chatter.
Given its children-only cast–the show’s premise: 40 kids, 40 nights, no parents–it’s no surprise that fingers have been waving since the show’s announcement in mid-May. The initial accusations were mostly of the “is this ethical?” variety.
And Nina Tassler, the network’s entertainment chief, expected–and frankly, desired–as much. “In order for a reality show … to really get out there and change the landscape of television, you have to sort of stir public debate,” she told a roomful of reporters at the Television Critics Association press tour in July.
But mere days earlier, that finger waving had reached another level.
The fingers in question belonged to the trade magazine TV Week, which reported in a July 15 article that the show’s brass had declared the production a “summer camp” rather than a place of work and took advantage of New Mexico’s since-changed child labor laws, which were lenient when it came to television and theatrical productions.
Executive Producer Tim Forman’s defense: The state had been selected because it had “the right location” and the net’s legal team had subsequently found no legal issues in shooting there. The uninhabited town of Bonanza City is some 20 minutes outside of Santa Fe.
Now a month later, The New York Times is unleashing still more buzzworthy details. In an article published on Wednesday, it claims that, according to interviews with state officials and official documents obtained under the state’s open records act, the producers had been warned by the state attorney general’s office during filming last spring that they might be violating New Mexico’s child labor laws.
That same day, The Los Angeles Times raised another topic of controversy: the children’s safety during the show’s taping. It reported that Janis Miles, the mother of a 12-year-old contestant whose face was burned during filming, filed a complaint in her home state of Georgia in June. She reportedly requested an investigation into “abusive acts to minors and possible violations of child labor laws.”
The network was quick to disagree: “These kids were in good hands and under good care with procedures and safety structures that arguably rival or surpass any school or camp in the country,” a statement to the Los Angeles-based paper read.
But all of this begs the question: Does the old adage hold up? Is all buzz good buzz, particularly when it comes to ratings?
The answer, according to Bill Carroll, vice president and director of programming with Katz Television Group, a New York-based media buying and consulting firm, is absolutely: “Buzz is always good.”
What it does, he says, is drive people to sample the show. But, he’s quick to point out, only merit will determine whether those viewers will stay.
Brad Adgate, research director at Horizon Media, a New York-based ad buying agency agrees: “The show has to be good,” he says. “It has to resonate with viewers.”
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