I really hate to admit this, but after several years of avoiding so-called “reality” TV shows, I’ve been sucked in by the Celebrity Apprentice. Each week I actually swear that I’m not going to watch, but I still end up tuning in on Sunday night. And now with disgraced former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich as one of the contestants, the train wreck of a show is that much worse and yet I get drawn to it each week.
I watch Celebrity Apprentice for the fun of it, at the same time wearing my PR hat and wondering what the heck Blagojevich was thinking when he signed on to be part of this Donald Trump offering. Here you have a life-long politician who was run out of office for trying to sell President Obama’s old U.S. Senate seat to the highest bidder. He was impeached, but has not been convicted on the Federal charges he faces. And he thinks that going on a reality TV show is the way to rebuild his image. (BTW, he was going to take part in an earlier reality show, but a judge turned down his request to travel to
His appearance on Celebrity Apprentice is a mockery. At one point in last week’s show the camera caught him on his cell phone apparently talking about his upcoming trial and he is overheard saying…“What did the lawyer say? This lying piece of [expletive deleted]. He betrays me in the job and then he goes and does this. There's no tape to corroborate that, right?”
This is really a classic example of what not to do when trying to re-establish your reputation. There’s no question that maintaining a positive image is easier than repairing one that has been seriously damaged. Had the Governor come to us, we no doubt would have advised him to maintain a relatively low profile, at least until his Federal court case is resolved, and focus on some small, positive steps to establish a base for repairing his reputation. I can guarantee we would not have suggested going on reality TV.
I’m curious to know if you feel that Celebrity Apprentice will actually help and not do additional damage to an already tarnished Blagojevich? Is there anything the former Governor could do to save his sinking ship?
5 comments:
I think the only way Blagojevich is going to escape this is to pull a Tiger - disappear for awhile and hope that people have somewhat forgotten about his actions when he returns. Putting his past mistakes front and center on a reality show is only reinforcing it.
On the flip side, Blagojevich is probably doing wonders for the show. I know I'm enticed to watch it now just to see what will happen next.
The funny thing is, Blago probably thinks this is the greatest thing to happen to him post-impeachment. But it makes him look worse than ever. It is like watching a train wreck...even worse than Tiger.
Generally, reality TV is NOT a good way to rebuild your reputation. As much as people love to watch reality TV, I think a lot of people don't have much respect for it or the people on the shows. Blagojevich is just digging his hole deeper now.
Reality TV is so popular and hooks people to watch every week, because of people like Blagojevich. Many times it's just like a train wreck in that you don't want to watch, but yet you just can't take your eyes off it!
Having Blago on the show was a good ratings move for Celebrity Apprentice, but most definietly a bad ratings move for Blago, himself. In my opinion, this former Governor won't come afloat from his sinking ship for awhile with this move.
In the past when someone did something very shameful, they used to try to keep a low profile with the hope that what they did would be remembered as little as possible and that they’d regain some personal pride in themselves. But that’s not the case anymore because media tends to focus in on these things. As for Rod Blagojevich being on The Celebrity Apprentice, I am not certain it’s going to do him any favors for his public image. He may think that his participation in the show for a charity could wind up being an advantage to rebuild his public image and his future career, but the degree of its effectiveness is out of his hands because it’s a reality TV show.
Post a Comment