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    meanorniceHamilton Nolan
    7/07/14 1:14pm
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      goldenraemeanornice
      7/07/14 1:16pm

      Ah, yes, unfair worker compensation is really just little people whining.

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      meanornicegoldenrae
      7/07/14 1:21pm

      PAs, the lowest common detonator of a production job, can easily negotiate a flat rate of $150/day on a reality show..for a commercial it's $200. If the wages isn't up to your liking...I will put this in all caps to exaggerate a point that literally no one seems to get,

      YOU CAN LEAVE AND FIND ANOTHER JOB!

      There are hundreds of reality shows. No one is forcing anyone to work there. Yes, the hour suck, but guess what, even on the highest budget tentpole feature or the longest running TV show...THE HOURS SUCK. Always. Always. Always.

      This is akin to people bitching about how they were treated unfairly when they joined the army...you signed up for this.

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    GregorMendelHamilton Nolan
    7/07/14 1:48pm

    While my mother was dying in hospice, I responded to an email to say I could not make a meeting and why. The response from a Dean was, "That is not in the university's best interests." I printed it out and saved it. Still have it.

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      WomenholduphalftheskyGregorMendel
      7/07/14 4:02pm

      Hey! When I took off to take care of my mother who was dying I was forced to take FMLA leave. When she died faster than we expected, the reaction from the HR person at the school I work at was, "Well, then your leave no longer applies." Do you think some people are missing a basic humanity chip?

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      a most evil queenGregorMendel
      7/07/14 4:20pm

      I hope you mailed a copy to his mom.

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    LongawayHamilton Nolan
    7/07/14 6:09pm

    You want to do stories like this, you should look at the "independent contractors" known as professional wrestlers. Treated a huge amount better than they used to be, but still at the ass end of the entertainment industry. The factthat they don't have a union, or a union offering to incorporate them (paging the Stuntman's Association) is near criminal, and has indirectly lead to the entire industry shrinking to a single major employer.

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      Hamilton NolanLongaway
      7/07/14 6:34pm

      If you have some stories you'd like to share, email me: Hamilton@Gawker.com

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    Oliver MoneyHamilton Nolan
    7/07/14 1:02pm

    They should make a reality show about this.

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      John BoehnerOliver Money
      7/07/14 1:05pm

      YES.

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    merryfanHamilton Nolan
    7/07/14 1:17pm

    “I am being professionally abused” but “it's something I love to do.” Great.

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      The Other Theronmerryfan
      7/07/14 1:19pm

      Yes, we should all have to give up our dignity to do what we love.

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      InterrobangsInSpeechmerryfan
      7/07/14 2:21pm

      It is possible to be doing what you love and still be exploited.

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    GhetroHamilton Nolan
    7/07/14 1:43pm

    Haskell Wexler (the Oscar-winning cinematographer) has been beating this drum for a while about work hours and safety in the film industry with the "12 on 12 off" campaign- and this should probably also extend to not only reality TV, but also healthcare and transportation.

    http://12on12off.weebly.com

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      AuntTreatsGhetro
      7/07/14 10:23pm

      He also made a movie about it several years ago, titled Who Needs Sleep?:

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    Exponential GrapeHamilton Nolan
    7/07/14 1:48pm

    Is it just me, or is blaming "the economy" just some blanket excuse people have to get out of doing the right thing? Going through and watching dramas produced through the years they always blame "the economy" for anything.

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      gregmExponential Grape
      7/07/14 2:18pm

      For pointing this out, you must be a real faggy McSocialist who hates mom, apple pie and jesus. A little hard work never hurt anyone, haw haw! Now lemme order a little more quicklime to cover up the expended worker trench here.

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      Meander061Exponential Grape
      7/07/14 3:30pm

      Is it just me, or is blaming "the economy" just some blanket excuse people have to get out of doing the right thing?

      Like paying wages, overtime and benefits? Pretty much, that is their excuse, yes.

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    Undead ProducerHamilton Nolan
    7/07/14 2:13pm

    I produced reality TV for years, after Real Life, Survivor & Osbournes changed cable forever. I was young and eager. While there were moments of fun, it was insane hours and very exhausting - physically and mentally. One show, I was lucky to get 3 hours of sleep a night, for weeks straight. I was told to not think of the "performers" as friends, and was coached on how to lie to them, stress them out, and how to make them cry - all to get more drama. The end product was rarely something I was proud of, and ultimately, I felt I was contributing to the dumbing-down of America.

    There's never a shortage of reality shows to work on, but I refuse to do it anymore. And sometimes I don't have work.

    And YES, I've always said that the reality of the reality shows would be a much more entertaining show than what makes it to the screen. Please feel free to steal this idea and make a show... without me.

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      RamboUndead Producer
      7/08/14 1:47pm

      Please don't leave others to fend for themselves, If you get a chance plz take a step, however small , towards stopping such blatant abuse by Job Providers. Remember what is happening in Reality TV can happen in other sectors as well. We should all join hands to stop it before it spreads.

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      Undead ProducerRambo
      7/10/14 3:26pm

      I wish you all the luck, but I've invested time, training and lack of money into working in other forms of production, and life is 1000% better. I do not care about reality tv to make it better, but I promise to always fight unfair conditions in my current and future endeavors. Pick your battles. Do you really want to fight so you can spend the rest of your life making Top Wives of Redneck Storage Interventions?

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    MarkEbnerHamilton Nolan
    7/07/14 9:32pm

    Reality production companies are the poor man's television show-runners, yet they really are by and large an arrogant, unscrupulous lot.

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      Not just an amateur asshole. Professional.Hamilton Nolan
      7/07/14 3:48pm

      Every time I see a show like "Man Against the Wild" or something where the star is supposed to look like a he-man because he's hiking through the desert or climbing rocks, or trekking across a glacier, I always think "yeah, but there's a guy doing exactly the same thing with a fucking 20 pound camera on his shoulder."

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