I certainly don't want to believe this since I thought this show was really trying to help people. I checked with Snopes and didn't see it but since it is so recent, that doesn't surprise me. I am usually pretty skeptical of stuff like this. How familiar are you guys with this Smoking Gun site? How reliable is it?
I hate being sick. I haven't felt good enough to sit at the computer much so I am stuck watching bad TV at times. A tabloid news show mentioned this today. I want to get better so I can go back to work. Posts: 1319 | Registered: Jul 2005
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I don't know for sure the total reliability factor of the site, but I've seen a lot of stuff on that site that has turned out to be true later, like the Dick Cheney advance team list, for what he wants in his hotel room before he arrives.
I wouldn't be surprised if it's true. And as disappointed as that makes me, I still like Extreme Home Makeover. Regardless of their motives, they are still doing good for people that really need it. It's the same reason I like "The Biggest Loser." I don't care if they are exploiting people for ratings, these people's lives are being made better, and in the case of TBL, they really truly are saving lives by helping these people to turn their lives around.
I'm greatly disappointed that they aren't altruistic at heart, but I'd say the ends justify the means in this case.
Edit to add: Alright, I posted before I actually read the email on the site. And to be honest this whole thing looks like a misunderstanding. From what I see, and maybe this is just me trying to see the best in people, but it looks to me like the variety they are searching for could be a way of raising awareness about different diseases that afflict few people, but still exist. Everyone knows about cancer, but the less well known diseases rarely get that much attention or media play.
Again, maybe at heart they are just trying to drive up ratings by showing this plethora of tragedy, but aren't they also doing a good thing by raising awareness? How can we be sure what their true intentions are?
If they really just wanted to tug at your heartstrings, they'd stick with the same ole same ole and have people send in videos with their tale of woe, and that would likely work to get people all over the country in tears over the plight of these families. But the fact that they are searching out rare, little known afflictions to me seems like it's about more than just ratings.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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I always assumed that the show, and other similar shows, went looking for people with unusual problems/situations. I'm not sure why this counts as a smoking gun -- it's not like they're causing people problems in order to create an opportunity to "help."
Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
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Um, I'm sorry, but hasn't this always been the point of the show? Find people with a run of bad luck or a particularly bad circumstance and do a dream makeover on their house? And the worse the situation the family is in, the better, because that's what people want to watch. Of course they want to help people, because helping people makes people want to watch the show, which brings ratings and money. It's commercial television, the fact that their doing it for money doesn't change what they're doing.
Anyway, I've always found The smoking Gun to be reliable, and in this case I would have assumed such a memo existed even if it hadn't been published. Although it certainly could have been worded more tactfully.
Posts: 7954 | Registered: Mar 2004
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quote:Originally posted by mr_porteiro_head: What am I missing? I don't see anything morally wrong with searching for people with "interesting" problems for them to give a new house to*.
I gotta say, that's exactly what I'm thinking as well. I mean, They're helping people, but at the same time they're trying to get ratings. I don't see how this is news. I naturally assumed that programs like this would look for the most "interesting" cases. They can't give new homes to everyone who deserves one, and no one held a gun to the producers' heads and told them that they had to make a show where they helped anyone at all! Should we act like it's terrible that they pick and choose who they help while other reality shows give people money for living on an island, doing stupid stunts, or answering trivia questions? The bottom line is that they are helping people in need.
BTW, I've never actually seen the show either.
Posts: 1569 | Registered: Dec 2004
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I watched the show when it first came on and although I knew they looked for "needy" families, I thought to put it in a memo like this is just awful. It is like they are making fun of these particular disabilities and conditions and saying that others are just not bad enough to make the show. When they first started, they were helping people like that sweet woman who lived and worked with kids in an at-risk neighborhood. She wasn't disabled but she was older and had basically given her life to helping others on a very limted budget and her house was too small to do the work she wanted to do. That is the kind of show I thought it was. This memo was just pathetic.
Posts: 1319 | Registered: Jul 2005
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I don't watch the show. Although there is some merits to the ends justifying the means point of view-because needful people are getting helped-it puts an...ambiguous twist on the motives of the people doing the helping.
Because, of course, they're taking that helping to the bank, right? Not to mention broadcasting to millions of viewers what nice helping helpers they are. My reaction is akin to the reaction I'd have if someone was frequently and loudly telling stories to all comers about the charity work they do and how helpful they are to the virtuos desperate.
Posts: 17164 | Registered: Jun 2001
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As a side note, 'pathetic' means 'worthy of sympathy', which I think was not the meaning you intended.
Posts: 10645 | Registered: Jul 2004
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This is what I expected. If it was done for purely altruistic reasons, they wouldn't charge advertisers for that hour.
The essential business of television is selling eyeballs to advertisers. How those eyeballs are obtained is a side note.
If there's anything shameful here, it's that we are more likely to WATCH a show where the people have interesting diseases.
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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So they do well by doing good. More power to them. I'm still not going to watch. (unless they run it before LOST then I might see the last 5 min)
With one show a week, they can't help everyone. They have to be picky about who they help. It makes since that they would look for that which will help them the most.
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