No Reality Show. No Reality Show.

In a conversation with my roomate last year, we talked about how reality shows were becoming more and more prevalent in tv (he's a communications major) and he explained to me that one of the reasons why reality shows are so frequent these days is that they do very well...for a number of reasons.
First of all, they're popular. As far as I'm concerned this is just more proof of how people's taste in entertainment is becoming cheaper as time progresses (you don't have to try and wrap your mind around all of that "plot" nonsense...you just get to watch and vege out while people try and complete the next task) and I think it can be seen in all areas of media not just tv shows--but I digress. Regardless of my personal oppinions, reality tv is very appealing to the masses (I almost said lowly masses...but I decided to show some self-restraint and stick ot the point). People will go out of their way to watch it, and having watched it will spend hours discussing it--which is good if you want them to keep watching it.
Also, It's cheap. You don't have to pay all of those actors to act. You save thousands in having a shorter script, and you don't have to spent nearly as much time filming and rehearsing. The overall effect of this is that there is much less risk involved, which makes it much easier to try out a reality show than a regular tv series since should the show not take, you haven't invested nearly as much into it.
Finally, they're easy. You don't have to come up with a complex plot--just a general theme for the game. You don't have to write all those lines and rely on actors to get them right. You don't have to worry about whether or not a scene conveys the right feeling because all the scenes are supposed to be "real" and shot as they actually happened anyway.

So, because of the overwhelming market reasons that I just discussed it is a vastly better idea to churn out reality shows than to put in the effort and take the risk to produce a series, isn't it? Producers seem to think it is and the number of reality shows on the air is only expected to increase. Will I be unfortunate enough to live to see a day when real new tv shows are a minority and reality shows the rule? I hope not, because here is the reason why it is better-- despite all the market logic to the contrary--to make real tv shows: art.
Real tv shows have an art to them that reality shows don't. They tell a story and they can use this story to make a point. They bring up intersting ideas that people might not have considdered otherwise. They can portray a different world or take an intersting spin on the ones we know. In short, the are stimulating, which reality shows are not. A really, truly good reality show does a good job of appeasing the audience, a truly good tv show should inspire them.