Leading article: Reality television
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The law of unintended consequences strikes again. High definition television was designed to inject new excitement into domestic entertainment. Viewers were promised an inspection of every blade of grass on the sports field and beautiful definition of the tiniest insect in wildlife documentaries.
What the producers didn't plan on was the new technology revealing the details of crumbling soap opera sets, or rushed make-up jobs. And now, as we report, they are scrambling to smooth such rough edges (which in a previous age would have gone unnoticed by the viewer) by the time these programmes are broadcast in high-definition. This is reality TV, but not as the entertainment moguls intended it.
Which just goes to confirm what C.P. Snow once said: "Technology... is a queer thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other." Surely a fit subject for a documentary. In high definition naturally.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments