Reality Check: The Business and Art of Producing Reality TV

At age 13, Michael Essany launched a cable access talk show out of his parents' basement in Indiana. Within a few years, The Michael Essany Show became a regular stop on the PR junket for politicians, actors, and rock stars and got picked up by the E! Entertainment Network.

In his new book, he shows aspiring reality TV producers how to break into the business; the ethics of reality TV, including "scripting" the unscripted; market projects to major networks and production companies; protect themselves legally and financially; use multimedia and the web to create and generate additional revenue from the programming; and avoid professional pitfalls. Rounding out the discussion are contributions from heavyhitters like Dick Clark, Leeza Gibbons, and behind-the-scenes experts in the field.

There are many books and sources of information on film producing, but until now, nothing on reality TV producing. The knowledge in this book is valuable and will save wanna-be producers from a lot of headaches. Reality TV exploded onto the scene recently (circa 2000) and rapidly became a staple of all major networks and cable because it garners good ratings and is cheap to produce.