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Kids' Reality Show 'Borders on Abuse'

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Kogs:
from tuesdays hollywood reporter

Critic's Notebook: It's no time to 'Kid' around
CBS should ax new reality series
By Barry Garron

Aug 28, 2007

CBS thought it had a novel idea, one that would resonate with viewers in all demos. "Kid Nation," scheduled to premiere Sept. 19, features 40 children ages 8-15 who try to form a community without adults in a deserted town in the New Mexico desert.

But soon after the reality show wrapped production in May, problems began to crop up.

Government officials in New Mexico began to suspect that labor laws might have been violated. Reportedly, the kids had to put in 14-hour days with little supervision. One girl suffered burns on her face in a kitchen accident; others accidentally drank bleach.

Industry observers began to wonder why the parents of young children would send them to a New Mexico desert for 40 days, entrusting them to producers they barely knew. And they questioned the wisdom of turning youngsters into entertainment fodder before they are old enough to understand how much national exposure might change their lives -- and not necessarily for the better.
 

Initially, CBS execs might have thought the criticism would subside. That hasn't happened. If anything, it has grown more intense. SAG and AFTRA also have raised concerns about how the kids were treated. With each new allegation and announced investigation, CBS and producer Tom Forman are looking increasingly insensitive.

This has all gone far enough. It's time for CBS to cut its losses, apologize for an idea that was well-intentioned but ill-considered and pull "Kid Nation" from the schedule.

It wouldn't be the first time a network scheduled an ambitious or provocative show and then thought better of it. Think Fox's O.J. Simpson expose or CBS' own miniseries "The Reagans."

As for the expense of pulling the plug, sometimes it just has to be done. The CBS network recently acknowledged as much by reaching a reported $20 million settlement with Don Imus, this after years of encouraging the radio talk show host to be controversial.

Allowing this show on its schedule could further tarnish the public perception of the Tiffany network.

People will want to know why the parents of the "Kid Nation" participants had to sign a 22-page, single-spaced contract that effectively gags them from speaking about the program or risk a $5 million penalty. People will ask why parents would sign a contract that essentially absolves the producers from any responsibility for their child's well-being. (Others, however, might take to task the parents themselves for being overly eager to turn their children into potential celebrities.)

In any case, people will continue to ask why an experience that Forman describes as similar to a summer camp takes place in an area that the contract calls "inherently dangerous."

CBS says that critics are giving the show a bad rap and that safety precautions at the production site rivaled any at the best schools or camps. For one thing, various producers as well as child psychologists and other support staff were on hand throughout the shoot.

But if the support systems were so good, why did CBS and Forman refuse in the contract to take any responsibility for the children's health and safety? And why did they set up shop in New Mexico rather than film under California's more restrictive and protective child labor laws?

In short, there are legitimate questions about whether those in charge put a higher priority on producing a program than on the welfare of the children who were in it.

Whatever might be the ratings for such a show, "Kid Nation" should go if CBS is to avoid getting a black eye.

Kogs:
more from the la times

Though bound by a confidentiality pact, parents tell advocacy groups of concerns that children were fed lines.
By Maria Elena Fernandez, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
August 31, 2007
Amid the media firestorm and scrutiny by public officials, a group of "Kid Nation" parents has expressed concerns to two Los Angeles-based advocacy groups that monitor child labor in the entertainment industry about the way producers handled aspects of the production in New Mexico this past spring.

The 40 children and their parents are bound by a confidentiality agreement with CBS' subsidiary Magic Molehill Productions, and Good TV Inc. that prevents them from speaking to the press without the "consent of an authorized representative of CBS." According to the participation agreement, violators must pay $5 million to CBS.

But about a quarter of the parents involved have spoken confidentially to the BizParentz Foundation and A Minor Consideration about the fact that during the course of the show, producers gave their children lines to say or asked them to re-cast dialogue or repeat scenes.

The parents watched the last day of filming in May, which included the show's final town council meeting, interviews with the children, and some retakes. According to Anne Henry, co-founder of BizParentz, the parents saw the children being prompted to utter lines such as "Oh, wow!" and "No, don't do that" and to review on camera things that had happened earlier during the the production.

Henry said she has also spoken to crew members who confirmed that the children were sometimes directed and told what to say.

"That may be surprising to the public, but it's actually not unusual for reality TV," Henry said. "It's not unusual for shows to make sure they have all the footage they might ever need to cut and paste the story line they want to create because they're creating entertainment. But that is significant in this situation because CBS and the producers are trying to claim that this was not work and was not scripted and the children were not actors."

Tom Forman, the creator of "Kid Nation," said Thursday that the parents observed routine "pickups" for scenes in the show that were perhaps missed because of technical difficulties or cameras not positioned to capture the face of the child speaking. The children also gave final interviews on the last day and were asked to recall moments from earlier in the production and restate lines, he said.

The issue of whether the children were "working" while they were living on a ranch near Santa Fe for 40 days as they built a society while cameras were filming is being investigated by New Mexico Atty. Gen. Gary King. CBS lawyers maintain that, like all reality show participants, the children were not "working" and that the $5,000 payment they received is a "stipend" and not a "wage." But New Mexico officials are reviewing whether the children needed work permits.

The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, the Screen Actors Guild and the Writer's Guild of America West are also reviewing the contract between the participants and the production company because guild officials say "Kid Nation" highlights a significant labor issue in Hollywood. The guilds have long contended that reality television show contestants should be covered by union contracts because they are performers.

"I've talked to parents who are just learning how much of a television production this was, the many do-overs and the requests to do things a certain way," said Paul Petersen, founder of A Minor Consideration. "They're figuring out that the children were on assignment to fulfill a producer's creative impulses."

"No words were put in their mouths," Forman said, "and more importantly, if the concern is that something is going to be taken out of context and manipulated, I can just promise you that's not happening.

"We're taking great pains for a million reasons, in part because we are good storytellers and in part because the stuff is real and dramatic enough on its own," Forman continued. "I know the way some reality shows work, and I know how things are cut to appear as if they happened when they didn't. It's not happening. It has never happened on any show I've ever worked on. It's not how I do things."

Maidenlady:
Well I not sure  why any parent would send a  child of their any where that  would be a show on just kids ? did they not ask questions about who do the cooking ? who be there in case kids got hurt ? now I not attacking the parents I just saying parent do not let their kids go off with out knowing a heck lot of information  about the place they going , how safe it is etc. now another point I think needs brought out . how could it really be a kid only area if they were filming the show for t.v ? I do not think they let the kids a hold of their  cameras .lights .film and stuff plus they had to have adults there telling the kids what to do to film the show the way they wanted it to look . I think it a big rift over nothing .sounds like couple people was not happy they did not get huge amounts of money but let the show be a hit see how they change their tune .
I never send any my kids grandkids or great grand kids off with out knowing what they be doing . who be there in case of first aid  etc. no real parent would . sounds like bunch sour grapes to me .
i going watch the show if it not on same time as dwts last night .

TexasLady:
Maidenlady: I am with you. My grandkids would never be allowed to go on a show like this. The whole concept turns me off.

BTW, what is it that boy is saying in the latest commercial? Viva La Revolution?

Maybe CBS thinks the publicity pro and con will bring an audience. I hope they are wrong.

Texas_kimmie:
Oh, it will definitely have an audience. The more it is talked about, the bigger the audience will be. I will most definitely be watching it. And why not? It's put out there for entertainment, and I definitely want to see whats going on. If a parent is stupid enough to send their child off to a place like that (they signed papers), then that is their own fault. You shouldn't be able to sign waivers and then cry foul! Most of the parents were probably hoping this would be their child's "big break". Not cool.....but Yep, I'll be watching. Don't most people stop and stare at trainwrecks?

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