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Bigger Bubbies Make You Bold
Barbara Kantrowitz 6/25/2009 12:00:00 AM
All of these made great television. But it also sent some unorthodox health messages. We're not the only ones pondering questionable health information on reality TV. In 2006, researchers for the Kaiser Family Foundation reported on the positive and negative effects of shows like The Bachelor, Fear Factor, The Biggest Loser, and Extreme Makeover in a paper called "The ‘Reality’ of Health: Reality Television and the Public Health." Among the problems cited by authors Peter Christenson of Lewis & Clark College and Maria Ivancin of American University were the fact that these shows overemphasize the importance of physical appearance, downplay the risks of plastic surgery, and "often place contestants in situations that reward risk-taking behavior." Younger viewers, they write, may try to imitate stunts because they don't understand that the danger for contestants is tightly controlled by producers.
The Perils of Punditry
Evan Thomas 6/13/2009 12:00:00 AM
I am an occasional talking head on TV, and I try to appear relaxed, though I am sometimes anxious. In those moments, I can say something that is wrong or that I regret. I don't just put my foot in my mouth on television—I do it at dinner parties, too—but at least, in that case, it doesn't show up on YouTube. Appearing on Hardball With Chris Matthews on June 5, I compared President Obama with God.
The Channel’s Changing
Kurt Soller 6/9/2009 12:00:00 AM
Tuning in just isn't as straightforward as it used to be. Though television, and the technology that supports it, has been in flux for more than 50 years, there's nothing quite like this month. To start, the big television stations will stop broadcasting analog signals on June 12, 2009, completing America's transition to digital. But that's only for Americans still sitting on their couch, staring at a box. Palm's new smartphone, the Pre, will offer streaming TV. So too will the new Apple iPhone 3g S (that's S, as in speed).
Confessions of a Dangerous Novelist
Nicki Gostin 6/6/2009 12:00:00 AM
Live Your Best Life Ever!
Weston Kosova 5/30/2009 12:00:00 AM
In January, Oprah Winfrey invited Suzanne Somers on her show to share her unusual secrets to staying young. Each morning, the 62-year-old actress and self-help author rubs a potent estrogen cream into the skin on her arm. She smears progesterone on her other arm two weeks a month. And once a day, she uses a syringe to inject estrogen directly into her vagina. The idea is to use these unregulated "bio-identical" hormones to restore her levels back to what they were when she was in her 30s, thus fooling her body into thinking she's a younger woman. According to Somers, the hormones, which are synthesized from plants instead of the usual mare's urine (disgusting but true), are all natural and, unlike conventional hormones, virtually risk-free (not even close to true, but we'll get to that in a minute).
It Was A Precedent-Setting Year For Tv
Marc Peyser 12/20/2001 12:00:00 AM
Here's a depressing thought: 2001 may be the first year in recent memory that failed to produce any break-out television shows. That's right--not a single show that debuted this year seems poised to become a top 10 hit.