A very common form of editing in reality television, known as "Franken-biting," uses many hours of footage to arrange different clips or sound dubs together to manipulate events and add drama or tell a story. Sometimes, the manipulation can be extreme. For example, Sarah Kozer says on Plugged In that when she was a contestant on "Joe Millionaire," producers edited the show in a way that led viewers to believe she had sexual liaisons with another contestant.
In addition, the soundtrack can instantly change the tone of any scene and, thus, alter viewer perception, according to Plugged In.
The truth of the matter is that producers do not really pay attention to background except in terms of legality, according to Smart Money. Otherwise, producers mainly see potential contestants as characters that will add great drama to an unraveling story.
Although the big networks claim to have been enforcing stricter background checks, a number of serious conflicts have a occurred. For example, a contestant who was previously jailed for assault, harassment and other charges appeared on "America's Most Smartest Model" and was arrested on camera for sexually harassing another contestant.
Reality television is very much fueled by product placement and will become an ever-growing trend, according to Smart Money. "American Idol," for instance, has enormous amounts of product placement, small and large, including the placement of Coca-Cola cups in front of the judges. A recent crop of reality shows even have the main premise revolve around a specific product, such as "Gamekiller," a show that tests how contestants stay calm in high stress situations while using Axe body spray deodorant.
Before becoming a contestant or participant on a reality show, you must sign a plethora of ironclad release forms. These legal forms protect reality productions from being sued. The fine print in release forms are increasingly broad in order to cover nearly any situation that should arise. Thus, producers will be protected from liability, and of the liability suits that have occurred, many have been dismissed outright due to terms in the contract.