3 top issues raised at realscreen's first Factual Entertainment Forum

The first-ever Factual Entertainment Forum took place the day before this year's Realscreen Summit. Panelists at the event kept coming back to several key themes, most especially the neccesity for factual to retain its connection to the audience. Authenticity and relevance are key if producers want to forge an enduring bond with channel surfers.

But other key issues were also raised - among them a few red flags producers should pay some heed to:

Bertram van Munster, EP
It's about the skills: The mind behind The Amazing Race says he worries there's not enough technical expertise in the industry - everyone, he notes, wants to be an ep. But, where are all the skilled craftspeople coming from?

Andy Dehnart, Editor/TV critic
Referenced "Frankenbiting," a term for the practice used by editors to create drama by largely manipulating sound bytes to construct a sentence that was never actually said, or alluding to relationships that don't exist.

Richard Drew, EP
A key element for good reality is jeopardy - you can't just stick 10 people in a room and expect reality. You have to help it along. Drew also notes that you should avoid casting your shows with "media whores." Good to know.