Kid Nation

[Acebot44]

So a friend told me to watch this (http://www.cbs.com/primetime/kid_nation/) and...I'm not gonna watch it cus, hey, I dont watch TV really, but maybe you guys will find it err..interesting

[GameMaster]

This 'reality' show has controversy pissed all over it:

After the production ended in mid-May, the parent of one child in the production complained to state officials that the children's treatment bordered on abuse. Four children received medical treatment for accidentally drinking bleach, one child was burned on her face with hot grease while cooking in an unsupervised kitchen, and most of the children were required to work 14 hours or longer per day. They received a payment of $5,000 for their participation.

Over the past two days, however, the Times has shifted the focus to the question of whether the series violated state child labor laws by forcing children to work up to 14 hours a day.

The main point of contention seems to be whether or not the $5000 “stipend” received by kids on the show constituted wages.

A Times review of the contract, however, casts some doubt on this assertion, as the children “were required to do whatever they were told by the show’s producers, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or risk expulsion from the show”, which could potentially cause a forfeiture of the $5000 stipend.

http://tvblog.ugo.com/index.php/tvblog/more/nyt_continues_kid_nation_bombardment/