"Reality" TV -- phony or just deceptive?

In case there's any doubt left in your mind about whether reality TV has any genuine connection to reality, David Thiel has an example from that egregious Trump show:

Sure enough, during the entire anti-meatball, non-sequitur rant, Donald Trump was never pictured on-screen. Instead, we saw reaction shots of the teams, and an insert of Caroline standing next to a gesticulating arm which we are to presume was Trump's. The whole speech had been dubbed into the scene after the fact.

Folks, they just want you to watch the damn show, and they don't care if they have to lie to you to do it. Here's a reminder about the TV business. Most people think that the viewer is the customer and the broadcast is the product. Not true. In TV, the advertiser is the customer and the viewer is the product.