Camera crews capture every exciting detail of people s personal lives as it happens. Parts of these shows are staged to appear spontaneous, says Washington State University communication professor Val Limburg. People are acting for the camera, footage is edited and production is slick. The reality of reality TV is it s just a fad, he says. Programming is always trendy.
Lawmakers say rules for private sessions are too vague.
This prompted advocates to present bills to both houses of the legislature to amend the Open Meetings Act. Changes include clarifying the reason for nonpublic executive sessions and requiring minutes of closed-litigation sessions, which would not be available to the public unless a court deemed the session was improperly held. WSU communication assistant professor Susan Ross says Washington state executive session laws are extremely vague and a mechanism for abuse. Ross says she sees a clear need for change, but predicts local governments may be resistant. Ross says these bills have a poor chance of passing, unless the media and citizens take initiative to ensure laws are amended.