While I don’t keep up necessarily with the general trends of television programs on the major networks, it seems that there is less and less reality based programming and more programs going back to scripted content. Even though Convergence Culture was published only a few years ago, it already seems dated. In the first chapter on Survivor, the end of it seems to suggest that as convergence takes a stronger hold, it will be harder for producers to control the viewer experience because of all of the outside information that is available. Yet, I can only see this being applicable to the viewer experience of reality based television. Is there some way that convergence will make other types of television programming, say a drama, more user controlled? Will producers use the posts on fan websites as research and write scripts to please the fans or will they ignore it considering that it is just the opinion of the hardcore fans? I doubt it because to me it seems that network television writers write almost in a bubble that is almost impervious to the effects of current events.

I was curious about the current television ratings, and in the last week the top four shows were reality based programming (American Idol and Dancing with the Stars), but the next six were dramas or sitcoms. It is interesting to me that in the top shows for last week, no reality based programming like that of Survivor where it is possible for the producers to shape the outcome of the show was in the top ten, whereas programming where the viewers think they have more control is in the top ten. To me this suggests a shift in how reality programming is done in that seems that people like the idea that they have some interactivity with their programming. It seems like a convergence with something like YouTube where the viewers can vote on their videos after they watch them. Producers might have just accepted that in reality based programming, they need to make the concession that in reality, even they can not control everything. I will be interest to see the trends in the next few years to see if this is just a fad or a lasting trend. American Idol has been around for a while, but it is definitely not as big as it once was. Maybe in another few years it will be something different.