Word of mouth and reputation are very important things in most professional industries, but as an industry reliant on connections with other professionals and especially audience, the media industry quite possibly puts the most store by these two pillars of social perspective. Audiences have been viewed as gaining more power with every year that goes by; in the past, they were seen as passive, happy to absorb anything they were fed by studios (see: Hypodermic Needle Theory), however media theorists have learnt throughout the decades that this is definitely not the case. Audiences are more active than ever; what they like sways what is screened and recreated, and what they tell others about shows or films sways others to view or boycott. They have a much larger sphere of influence than was originally thought, and through the immediacy of the internet this will only continue to grow exponentially. A bad reputation can be the ruin of a show, company or person, as was typified by the TV show Chaser‘s sketch ‘Make a Realistic Wish Foundation’, aired in 2009. It satirised the real foundation, ‘Make a Wish’, which benefits dying children in funding their dreams (such as going to Disneyland, meeting their favourite celebrity, etc.), and thus satirised terminally ill children along with it. It led to backlash almost immediately, and the public outcry, only egged on by the media itself as it threw its own under the bus, led to one of the producers resigning after they gave the sketch the go-ahead.
Such a bad reputation can permanently ruin one’s chances of success in the media industry, with little return from disgrace. Media and production is almost entirely based on collaborative work, and nobody is willing to drag their own reputation through the mud by working with someone who has ruined their career. With no support or platform to try and better their reputation, there isn’t much anyone can do. It goes to show how vital it is to carefully consider all choices and actions made, and the consequences (a la Life Is Strange style) in order to avoid ruining future opportunities.
