When the ABC reality show “The Bachelor” arrived in Whitefish last fall, it was a big deal. Central Avenue was shut down. Country singer Sarah Darling performed on stage. Hundreds of people lined the street.
And there was Sean Lowe, the star of this season, embracing one of the contestants under perfect lighting. The scene was set. The cameras rolled. And now that “reality” is about to be broadcast into your living room.
This season of “The Bachelor” is already on the air, although the group hasn’t made it to Montana yet. I’ve been keeping an eye out to see when they do and am told Whitefish is featured in the Feb. 4 episode. Admittedly, I’ve watched previous seasons of this show. Yes, my coworkers remind me how lame that is.
But this time I have an excuse. I want to see the sweeping panoramic of our backyard and if any of my neighbors end up on screen. This is a big promotion for Whitefish and a coordinated effort between the city’s convention and visitor bureau and Montana Office of Tourism, which spent a sizable amount of money to bring the show to town.
A lot of people, about 10 million, watch “The Bachelor.” After it features a dressed-up, romantic location – in this case, Northwest Montana – the area often reaps the benefits of increased tourism. Previous areas featured on the show, such as Belize, Switzerland and Anguilla, highlight where bachelor contestants visited on their travel websites.
The show is unique in that it has been around a long time (11 years, which is longer than “Seinfeld”). It has a compelling narrative – multiple women vying for one man’s attention. These courtships rarely work out after the cameras stop rolling, but it’s the drama and deviousness along the way that keeps viewers tuning in. The success of some reality series has prompted television stations to launch dozens of them with varying success. From “Toddlers & Tiaras” to “Extreme Couponing,” most are awful. And I predict NBC’s latest proposal will be short-lived.
The network recently posted a casting call on the National Newspaper Association website. It asks, “Is your team a real version of ‘The Office’ meets ‘Parks and Recreation?’” The listing then explains that an NBC production company is “looking to produce a documentary style reality show featuring a small-town local paper.”
I thought about all the situations that could be parsed from a day at this small-town newspaper and soon realized we would need to become more interesting – perhaps, throw more chairs – to be considered. A good portion of our time is spent typing or on the phone. We also cover a lot of meetings, check out the dumpsites that may be consolidated in Flathead County – imagine filming an episode around it.
That’s not to say this job is boring. It’s not. We are privileged to cover a variety of interesting people and tell their stories. But we don’t fit the casting-call criteria. So, I was surprised when Jim Romenesko, a media blogger, reported that more than 150 newspapers had responded to the inquiry.
Producer Cara Biega also “noted that she was impressed with how amazing their stories are.” I wonder what those stories are and what happens in these newsrooms that would make someone want to watch them. In the entire six-year history of the Beacon, we could probably fill one episode with some above average, albeit redundant, jokes.
I suppose if you can make a television show around traffic enforcement, “Parking Wars,” and have it last seven seasons, you can make a newsroom captivating. But I tend to agree with Atlanta Journal Constitution reporter Jennifer Brett, who wrote, “Someone alert us when this premieres so we can be sure to catch it before it’s canceled.”