February 27, 2006
THE APPRENTICE: COMPELLING BUT NOT AUTHENTIC
Tonight marks the return of Mark Burnett's and Donald Trump's The Apprentice, an award-winning reality television show which serves corporate America's needs just as much as it does my own desire for something new on TV to complain, err... I mean, blog about. Here are my thoughts on the massive contradiction that is Donald Trump's The Apprentice:
Contradiction Number One - Salary: In Trump's version of The Apprentice (not to be confused with Martha Stewart's, which is now off the air), contestants--all of whom have had considerable business success of their own in the real world--vie for one spot to work for the Trump Organization for one year as a $250,000 salaried apprentice. I'm sorry, but no company in their right mind would pay an ëapprenticeí Two Hundred and Fifty grand per year to do a job they've never held before. I say, pay the winner something more like $65k for the year. The reality is that the winner always gets a book deal worth thousands upon thousands of dollars (along with a ghost writer to pen it), as well as speaking gigs worth just as much. Given the popularity of the show and the personal and professional leverage it brings to each of the contestants who appear on screen, I seriously doubt that a reduction in salary would impact the show's casting calls. Take the remaining $185k and donate it to a deserving charity.
Contradiction Number Two - Related Experience: In Trump's version of The Apprentice, contestants do everything BUT participate in challenges related to the business of the Trump Organization itself. From hawking Sam's Club memberships to organizing photo shoots for high-end luxury automobiles, the show's contestants supposedly demonstrate their value to a company that's in the business of buying, selling, and developing high-end real estate, yet they never work on any serious real estate-related projects as a part of the competition for the job. While it certainly makes for compelling television, it's a massive contradiction in terms. Why on earth would you not test for real estate-related knowledge, acumen, and savvy? Which brings me to the next pointÖ
Contradiction Number Three - Role Model: Trump spends a lot of airtime during the show lecturing the contestants about business success. Maybe I'm missing something here, but Donald Trump is one of the last people on earth we should ever take business advice from. The reality is that by 1990, Trump ran his own business into bankruptcy, and banks and bondholders lost hundreds of millions of dollars because of his poor business decisions. In the wid-90s, he combined his casino holdings into a publicly held company, but by 1998 that company had remained profitless and struggled to pay just the interest on its nearly $2 billion in debt, causing investors to once again experience catastrophic losses. There's no doubt that Donald Trump's a great front man. His name is recognizable and his celebrity status affords opportunities the rest of us can only dream of. But to position Trump as a business leader or as someone who has demonstrated the type of success which allows him to spout off at the mouth about how to run a successful business... itís nothing more than smoke and mirrors and the Easter Bunny!
Still though, I'll be tuning in tonight--and probably every other Monday night for the next few months--because The Apprentice *is* compelling. It's not compellingly authentic like Bravo's Project Runway or CBS's Survivor or Amazing Race, but The Apprentice *is* fodder for blogging, so I'll watch, even if it means I'll be screaming at the television just as loud as The Donald screams voiced over project instructions to his candidates.
Posted by Mikal at February 27, 2006 8:18 AM
| TrackBack
