Televisual transformations: The making of (media) citizens in interventional television productions

Abstract

Interventional reality programmes often give rise to speculations about how they treat their contributors. However, little is known about the actual production practices that lie behind these complex and often contradictory media texts. Based on in-depth interviews with crew members of a variety of popular formats, this article explores how ordinary people are turned into subjects of emancipation and spectacular transformations. By analysing the ideals, tactics and constraints characterising this process, I address how particular discursive and organisational mechanisms support or hinder morally viable compromises in situations where the imperative of ‘selling strong performances’ and personal standpoints come into conflict.