Jersey Shore to Jersey No More?

MTV's new reality show documenting eight twenty-somethings who party hard in New Jersey is, to some viewers, a serious hit-and-miss. More specifically, it's a hit-and-offend. The party people highlighted on this new reality series are all Italian and commonly refer to themselves as "guido," a derogatory term used to describe Italian men with over-exaggerated muscles, fake tans, greasy hair, and too much jewelry. Italian people view this show and are annoyed and offended by the hyper-sexualized, sleazy way in which Italians are portrayed. It's a "reality" show, therefore people are watching getting the impression that it is an accurate depiction of Italian life.

Protesters say that Jersey Shore is an inaccurate, "offensive" depiction of the ethnicity. MTV says that they have no plans to alter or remove the show. Someone call the PR police! MTV has committed a serious crime. Or have they? While MTV is not by any means ignoring the outrage that has been expressed by viewers of the show (most being offended Italians), they aren't really doing too much to make them happy either. Tony DiSanto, the President of Programming and Development for MTV had this response: "It never crossed my mind that this would be offensive. ...Everybody is welcome to their own POV. It bums me out that some people are offended." Hmm, it "bums you out," DiSanto? If only there were some solid action behind these seemingly sorrowful words. I'm not even Italian and I find this show offensive. It makes Italians look like crazy, drunk, and promiscuous, and reinforces these ideas with every episode. Viewers, those of the Italian ethnicity especially, have every right to get offended. But MTV has every right to keep the show on air. I think that DiSanto said it best when he stated, "...no show is for everybody and no show can be." That's real PR, if you think about it. If public relations is the act of managing the relationship between an organization and it's publics, isn't that DiSanto is doing here? He could lie to the public and say that he, too, sees the show as offensive, pull the show off the air, and apologize. That'd make people happy. But does PR always have to make people happy? Or does it just have to give people the truth, and hope that they're happy with it? I'd say the latter. Not every show is for everyone. We choose what we watch. if we continually watch something that offends us, we are choosing to be offended. Jersey Shore may present some Italians in a bad light, but I'd leave it to the intelligence of the American public to decide whether or not this show means that EVERY SINGLE ITALIAN IN THE WORLD is sex-driven alcoholic partier.

http://tv.yahoo.com/jersey-shore/show/45540/news/tv.tvguide.com/tv.tvguide.com-mtv-exec-bums-me-out-people-are-offended-jersey-shore