Reality TV

In what could be the most unholy union in recent television history, Mark Burnett (Survivor, The Apprentice) is teaming up with Rupert Murdoch (Fox, MySpace) to create a reality TV series about politics. The show, called "Independent," will feature ordinary Americans campaigning for the votes of viewers through what sounds like a combination of online organizing and offline televised events. It will run during the later primaries and the "dead zone" between the primaries and the nominating conventions. The winner will receive $1million which they must give away or use to run for office.

This has been tried before. During the 2004 election cycle, Showtime ran "American Candidate," which featured 10 contestants in a political Battle Royale judged by industry "experts." It didn't get a lot of attention (probably because it was on Showtime), but it had some interesting candidates, at least one of whom has been a huge participant in the progressive youth movement.

What's different about "Independent" is the cash money at the end - which must be used at least semi-philanthropically - and that the show sounds like it will be truly "cross-platform" - on both MySpace and network television. It's easy to sneer at this - it is a Burnett/Murdoch production, after all - but I'm hopeful for this program. I can see a couple positive outcomes, and a big chance for progressive youth groups here.

There are tons of possibilities: