Skip to main content
  • Book
  • © 2012

Consuming Reality

The Commercialization of Factual Entertainment

Palgrave Macmillan

Authors:

  • TIMELY: Reality TV has been around for more than a decade and continues to garner tremendous ratings through such shows as Jersey Shore, Dancing with the Stars, and The Bachelor. UNIQUE: No previous study on Reality TV addresses Deery's sustained argument about the commercial and PR dimensions of RTV and its position in a new media economy.

  • CONTROVERSIAL: Argues that Reality TV needs to be taken more seriously as an indicator of, and participant in, the contemporary sociopolitical scene.

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check for access.

Table of contents (8 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-ix
  2. Introduction

    • June Deery
    Pages 1-11
  3. Public Relations

    • June Deery
    Pages 45-65
  4. Nation Building

    • June Deery
    Pages 67-90
  5. Caring Capitalism

    • June Deery
    Pages 91-115
  6. Retail TV

    • June Deery
    Pages 117-136
  7. Mixed Blessings

    • June Deery
    Pages 137-156
  8. The Body Shop

    • June Deery
    Pages 157-175
  9. Back Matter

    Pages 177-225

About this book

Engaging in a comprehensive examination of reality TV's advertising and promotional strategies, as well as the commodification of viewers, Consuming Reality dissects the unique and startling relation between mediation and consumption.

Reviews

"This is an enjoyable and convincing book that would be very useful for undergraduate students of media, cultural or consumption studies and those interested in Baudrillard's theories on mediation and simulated reality. The argument is fluid and convincing, and the writing engaging. It provides an interesting and compelling critique of the reality television culture with a useful analytical reading of the underlying socioeconomic, political and cultural relationships contributing to it." - The Kelvingrove Review

"This smart and elegant book is a must-read for scholars and students interested in reality TV and in the encroachment of public relations and advertising rhetoric into all aspects of everyday life. In Consuming Reality, June Deery provides a thorough and rigorous analysis of commercialization in reality television." - Journal of Popular Culture

"Deery [has] provided [an] important [contribution] to RTV scholarship, and . . . will be essential reading for courses of study relating to RTV in particular and media consumption in general." - Popular Communication

"This is an enjoyable and convincing book that would be very useful for undergraduate students of media, cultural or consumption studies and those interested in Baudrillard's theories on mediation and simulated reality. The argument is fluid and convincing, and the writing engaging. It provides an interesting and compelling critique of the reality television culture with a useful analytical reading of the underlying socioeconomic, political and cultural relationships contributing to it." - The Kelvingrove Review

"This smart and elegant book is a must-read for scholars and students interested in reality TV and in the encroachment of public relations and advertising rhetoric into all aspects of everyday life. In Consuming Reality, June Deery provides a thorough and rigorous analysis of commercialization in reality television." - Journal of Popular Culture

"Deery [has] provided [an] important [contribution] to RTV scholarship, and . . . will be essential reading for courses of study relating to RTV in particular and media consumption in general." - Popular Communication

About the author

June Deery is Associate Professor of Media at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA, and is the author of Reality TV (2015) as well several articles on television and new media.

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access