Popular factual entertainment has changed the face of broadcasting in Australia. Where once dramas, long-running serials and current affairs programs filled prime-time scehdules, we now have docu-soaps such as Popstars, and reality gameshows like Big Brother. While some have expressed concern about this shift to light entertainment in factual programming, it can be argued that such programs have brought a new audience to non-fiction and revitalised debates concerning the real. This paper examines some of the current trends in popular factual entertainment programming, considers their innovations and explores why they are so compelling.
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