Realty Shows Put A Lot Of People Out Of Work Say PR Pros

"It is a growing trend and I don't think it's disappearing," said Entertainment Publicists Professional Society (EPPS) President Scott Pansky at a recent winter mixer at the Key Club in West Hollywood, California. He further stated, "As long as viewers enjoy boring, unscripted shows they're going to be around for a while. The market place has admittedly suffered, but again it's Hollywood trying to create great content. You look at 'Desperate Housewives' as a brand new formula for television and we'll probably see some copycat shows."

"I think reality TV takes away jobs from real actors and actresses," said Actress Christine Michele, who appears in the "2001 Maniacs" movie and Universal Pictures "House of the Dead"She continued by stating "People should go out and enjoy their own life, instead of sitting around watching reality tv. It's very invasive and contrived. The producers are selling people's real emotions for financial gain and that's sad."

"It's a question of ethics, because you're getting into people's private life and it is really difficult to do that without hurting feelings," said Kim Koury, publicist, for the Key Club.

"I think the upsurge in reality TV is horrible for the entertainment industry, because it's putting a lot of people out of work and it is not quality entertainment," said Rita Tateel, president of Celebrity Source.

"I'm a fan of reality television and I think it has revitalized TV in a lot of ways. It caused a big shakeup in the industry, but TV needs a shake up every 10 or 20 years." states Johnathan Zeliski of PR Collative.

"I think it's highly addictive and it's taking actor's jobs away, so I'm not sure I'm totally with it," said Heid LaCourse, account manager atOnTheSceneProductions.

"I rarely watch television, because I think it's substandard. It puts a lot of writers out of work and I think that it is an opportunity for product placement. It's certainly good PR for Richard Branson and Donald Trump."" said Kim Rahilly, publicity consultant.

"I don't think reality TV is an invasion of privacy, because the individuals on the show provide consent to be on the show and it's the choice that you make to watch it. I personally can't sit and watch itI would rather watch the History Channel or something a little more meaningful. I know a lot of people like it and it's popular.", said Karin Olsen of Amazon PR. "

George McQuade is the Vice Presidents of MAYO Communications, a Los Angeles full service public relations firm with a niche in media placement, crisis communications, damage control, branding and high-tech marketing communications. McQuade is a nationally recognized writer and photographer and has earned numerous awards in public relations for his media relations campaigns on and off of the Internet.