Reality-TV scribe aims to keep it real
This article is part of the Star’s trust initiative, where, every week, we take readers behind the scenes of our journalism. This week, we look at how Debra Yeo approaches her coverage of reality TV.
“If it bleeds, it leads” is a common expression in journalism credited to journalist Eric Pooley, who wrote the phrase in a 1989 New York Magazine piece entitled “Grins, Gore and Videotape — The Trouble with Local TV News.”
There’s no doubt that “bad” news often features prominently in coverage, and has done so throughout the history of journalism. But it’s also the case that not all news is bad news. Besides informing and educating readers, news can, and should, entertain. Editors at the Star make a deliberate attempt to balance the bad news with content that is lighthearted, fun, and entertaining.
Case in point: deputy entertainment editor Debra Yeo’s coverage of reality TV. Since 2004, Yeo has been bringing readers news, previews and opinions about wildly popular reality shows, such as The Voice, So You Think You Can Dance, and Survivor, among others. These days, she focuses on The Bachelor, The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise as well as The Amazing Race Canada.
This week, we sat down with Yeo to find out how she brings a critical eye to the genre. How do you view your role in covering these types of TV shows?
When it comes to The Bachelor franchise, in particular, I usually say I have a love-hate relationship with the shows. I am both a fan and a critic. When I recap episodes, I am reporting what happened but in a sarcastic, tongue-in-cheek way.
What do you say to critics who might view reality shows as something unworthy of coverage in a serious newspaper?
I say that they don’t have to watch the shows or read what I write. I know reality shows can be silly, but in my 33 years of practising journalism, I have had more response from readers about my Bachelor stories than anything else I have ever written. Reality shows can touch us in a genuinely emotional place. I have cried watching Bachelor proposals and Amazing Race eliminations, or performances on shows like American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance.
These shows also sometimes confront real-world issues. Think about Rachel Lindsay being the first Black Bachelorette a couple of seasons ago, or the scandal on Bachelor in Paradise when a sexual encounter between two contestants got out of hand. The woman involved said she couldn’t remember any of it because she was blacked out on booze and prescription drugs. That raised the issue of consent since the woman involved said she couldn’t remember any of it, although I don’t think Warner Bros. dealt with it as thoroughly as they should have.
Reality TV is known for its sometimes-torqued drama, contrived social situations, and high emotion. How do these factors influence the way you cover shows?
That is where the love-hate relationship comes in. Take the most recent season of The Bachelor, for instance, in which ABC claimed to show unedited footage of Arie Luyendyk Jr. dumping his fiancée, Becca Kufrin. I found it cruel that the producers allowed Kufrin to be blindsided on camera and wrote about that. What do you do to ensure you don't lose your sensitivity when covering these shows and the contestants, who, after all, are only human?
Every once in a while I have to step back and remind myself that even though the shows are formulaic and heavily produced, there are real people and emotions at play. Sure, some of the contestants sign up to get famous, but others are just ordinary men and women who want to find a wife or husband. The most powerful reminder of that was when I interviewed Brittany M., the “villain” on the most recent season of Bachelor Canada. I asked her why she hadn’t fought harder to clear her name with Bachelor Chris Leroux after the other contes- tants accused her of being mean to them, and she started to cry. In her real life, she prides herself on helping empower other women, so it really hurt her feelings that the other contestants thought she was out to get them. It was a reminder that, yes, make fun of the silly things people do and say on the shows, but try not to attack them as people.
You have a no-spoiler rule. How does this align with the Star’s desire to be transparent?
I try to come at these shows from the perspective of being just another viewer who happens to write about them. If I already know what happened, I won’t be writing the recaps from an honest place. There are instances where I do get advance knowledge, like when I attended a Women Tell All episode taping in Toronto, but even if I hadn’t signed a nondisclosure agreement, I wouldn’t have wanted to spoil the episode for other viewers. The same goes for the day I just spent shadowing The Amazing Race Canada.