reality blurred is Andy Dehnart's frequently updated look at the world of reality television, which includes original, exclusive news; interviews with producers and cast members; reviews of current shows; and biting analysis of the day's reality TV news and gossip. As the first publication dedicated to covering the genre of reality TV, reality blurred has, since July 5, 2000, presented the latest about television's most derided and beloved genre.

mission statement

I created reality blurred to collect and discuss the most fascinating and intriguing content realated to reality television. Despite reality blurred's comprehensiveness, its mission is not to cover every moment of every reality show in existence. Instead, it exists to cover those reality shows that I find to be newsworthy or interesting.

As a journalist, I do original reporting and cite and link to other primary sources whenever possible, and as a writer and critic, I offer analysis that's informed by my observations and knowledge.

The focus here is primarily on US shows that meet my definition of reality television (below). The best and worst are covered the most thoroughly, and those shows have their own archives. While I love the competition, reality blurred isn't a message board, a recap site that recounts every second of every episode of every reality show, or a bulletin board for propaganda. But I always welcome suggestions, tips, or press releases.

Comments and corrections are always welcome, as I am a fallible, opinionated human being, and people do disagree. Just let me know.

about reality television

This site covers reality TV (or unscripted television, if you'd like to get formal), but not many people agree about what constitutes reality television. While Survivor broke new ground in the summer of 2000, the genre had been around for years—from MTV's The Real World to PBS's early 1970s An American Family, which is really the grandparent of modern reality TV. In truth, reality-based programming has been around since the dawn of commercial TV; game shows and talent programs have been part of television essentially forever.

Reality television, then, is a subset of nonfiction TV, which is television that involves real people, but nonfiction TV is not reality TV. In other words, I consider reality TV to be dramatic, soap-opera like TV shows that follow real people in real or artificial contexts for a period of time. Reality TV can have a game element, and in some cases, it can even have different casts from week to week (like Fear Factor), but for me to cover it here, the show has to focus primarily on the human drama that results from the situation its cast members are in.

disclosures

As a freelance writer, I contribute essays, features, and other pieces to various publications. Presently, I am a regular contributor to msnbc.com, a news web site backed by NBC and Microsoft. I also write a monthly column for RealScreen Magazine, which covers the nonfiction film and television industry. As someone who's covered reality television since 1999, I sometimes communicated with the people who appear in stories here, from cast members to producers, usually while reporting a story. Advertisers on this site may advertise programs or other content that I happen to write about, although I never write about a show in exchange for advertising or anything else. Public relations representatives sometimes send complimentary review and press materials in advance of a show's broadcast, facilitate interviews, or provide other access, such as to set locations.

reality blurred is entirely written, produced, owned, and operated by me, at least until someone offers me enough money to sell out. The site's advertising is managed by Federated Media (see below) and is in partnership with AOL Television, which simply means that AOL links to stories here and reality blurred's traffic is counted as part of AOL's network.

As I hope my writing demonstrates, none of the above affects my decisions about what to cover or what to say about these subjects. However, I welcome feedback and criticism designed to keep me accountable.

advertising

reality blurred's advertising is managed by Federated Media. Please visit their site for more information, or contact me with questions.

commenting policy

You can now comment on stories here, and I'm thrilled to hear what you have to say, whether you agree, disagree, or just have something even bitchier to say than I did. As I explained when comments were introduced, comments on reality blurred are moderated and require you to log in via Facebook, Twitter, or Disqus.

I'll only approve comments that have a real name associated with them, so edit your respective profile to include your real name. That makes everyone more accountable and encourages better conversation. Instructions:

• If you registered with Disqus while posting for the first time, simply go to Disqus.com's account profile page and enter your name under "Display Name." Click Save, and you're all set.
• If you logged in with Twitter, go to your Twitter account settings and enter your name where it says Name. Click Save. You're done.
• If you logged in with Facebook, you may need to make a quick adjustment to your privacy settings so your name will show up with your posts.)

Comments are owned by and are the sole responsiblity of the commenter, although by posting you give reality blurred one of those fun worldwide, perpetual, non-exclusive licenses to show your comment and use it on the site--but you knew that, or you wouldn't be commenting. Moderating comments implies no endorsement or anything else by me, since again, you are responsible for what you write. And don't post anything illegal or stupid, because you're responsible for that, and if the police or courts come calling, I'll hand over whatever I have, since I'm not going to jail for you.

privacy policy

In general, reality blurred does not collect personally identifiable information from its users, unless you decide to send an e.mail message or enter a contest. If you choose to send an e.mail message, its contents may be published, but e.mail addresses and names will be kept private unless otherwise requested; contest information, such as a mailing address or date of birth, will be used only as specified in the contest rules, such as to verify eligibility or to send you a prize. Any personal information you send will never be sold to anyone. As a result of your visit to our site, ad server and traffic monitoring companies may collect anonymous data, sometimes using cookies, in order to help improve the site; in addition, third-party advertising companies may use non-personal identiable information about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide relevant ads. Any changes to this policy will be posted here. And thus ends the legal jargon crap.

disclaimers

There are a few things I shouldn't have to mention, but I will, because some people (not you, of course) are a few quarters short of a nickel, if you know what I mean. I am just a writer, critic, and fan. I am not the producer, cast member, camera operator, or rat from any reality TV show, and if you send me an e.mail message addressing me as if I'm one of the people I've written about, I'll probably suggest you seek help. I will not give you the e.mail addresses of your favorite cast member so you can send them frightening messages, and beyond what is posted in the casting section, I do not know how to get you on a reality show.

et cetera

For those who care about such things, reality blurred is produced using Movable Type. Most of the icons used are the work of Janko Jovanovic; everything else was written, created, designed, and coded by me. Thanks for reading all of this. Slow day at work?