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TV Dumbing Down Business
Why is it that two of Britain’s best known ‘business-oriented’ TV programmes – The Apprentice and Dragons’ Den – feel it necessary to portray the ‘non-expert’ as either naïve simpletons in the case of the latter or ego-driven air heads in the case of the former? Yes, of course there is there is the issue of entertainment and ratings, but I honestly don’t accept that this accounts for the whole of the answer.
How is it that none of the candidates on The Apprentice is familiar with even the most basic concepts of project-planning, cost management or pricing, despite coming from an array of corporate or entrepreneurial backgrounds (or so they claim)? Over in the Dragons’ Den meanwhile, were any of the hopefuls to demonstrate the most limited understanding of the difference between gross and net profit, the concept of variable costs or a credible sales forecast then I feel sure the Dragons would suffer collective heart failure, or its dragon equivalent (flame extinction?).
There is a serious point here. Although The Apprentice would appear to share similar genetic coding to reality TV in the mould of ‘Big Brother’ or ‘I’m a celebrity…’ rather than newsnight, it is a real lost opportunity on the part of the BBC and the programme’s creators to both inform and entertain on a subject about which there is a tremendous public appetite – business. Likewise Dragons’ Den, which at least spares us the worst extremes of reality TV (‘I want it, I really, really want it…”), and yet seemingly fails, notwithstanding the hammering home of the same messages episode after episode, to influence the quality of the pitches that come before the dragons.
There are too many talented and bright individuals working their socks off in this currently icy and unfriendly business climate who are so much better than these limp and uninspiring specimens, presumably selected to make us all feel smart, and who would far more realistically portray the dynamic, innovative and above all smart personality types that keep the economy from falling over completely. Whisper it, but are these dragons a teensy-weensy bit scared of bright candidates, and is ‘siralan’ only capable of intimidating the intellectually challenged?
