TV Journalism, Infotainment, and Reality TV: "Team Wallraff, " "Undercover Boss, " and the 2014 Burger King Scandal in Germany (As Seen on TV!). Issue 4 (1st December 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Neuheiser, Jörg
• Is Part Of: German politics and society. Volume 39:Issue 4(2021)
• Page Start: 25
• Page End: 50
• Publication Date: 2021-12-01
• Subjects: Burger King -- infotainment -- media history -- reality tv -- representation of work -- Team Wallraff -- Undercover Boss; Germany -- Civilization -- Periodicals; Germany -- Politics and government -- 1945-1990 -- Periodicals; Germany -- Politics and government -- 1990- -- Periodicals; 943.005
• DOI: 10.3167/gps.2021.390403
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1558-5441

Abstract

Abstract: This article analyzes the role of tv formats in the 2014 Burger King scandal in Germany as part of the popular representation of work, work-related conflicts, and the dynamic of power relations in both contemporary German companies and the German economy in general. It shows that investigative journalistic techniques in popular tv formats like Team Wallraff are essentially undermined by the existence of reality tv shows like Undercover Boss that use comparable techniques to present fundamentally different messages about companies, work conditions, and the relationship between employees and employers. I argue that to understand the effect of these representations of politics on the "real political arena, " in Germany and elsewhere, we should consider not only individual films, tv series, genres, and media formats, but also the cross-effects of multiple, often widely differing representations of politics in similar tv formats that can be viewed via identical media outlets.