Quiz show scandals

Since there are and quiz shows on television, where sometimes extremely large sums of money are to win, it came again and again to try, luck and chance off by fraudulent manipulations. The biggest quiz show scandal was uncovered in the late 1950s in the United States: Candidates several popular quiz shows had been prepared by the Producers of the program so that they could predetermine the course and outcome of the competition.

Background

The 1950s were the decade of television. Had in 1950 only 9 % of American households own a television, so it was at the end of the decade 86%. Accordingly, great was the influence of the media on public opinion.

At the same time the U.S. was in a scientific and technological competition with the Soviet Union. In this climate, "intelligence" and personal " knowledge" in general esteem as a symbol of technological and intellectual superiority of America won.

Expiration

In 1955, the U.S. broadcaster CBS game show The $ 64,000 Question, a kind of genius version of Trivial Pursuit, now honored "knowledge" not only recognition, but also with financial wealth. To guarantee the success of the mission, only candidates were selected fairly soon by the producers, which provoked strong sympathies with the TV audience and thus ensure good ratings. Therefore, it was important that these candidates were on the show as long as possible. And that in turn was only when she would answer all the questions correctly. Thus, the fraud began.

In 1956 the NBC a competing format, Twenty-One, the end of which is modeled on the card game Blackjack. Star of the show was soon the candidate Charles van Doren, son of a respected family and a young assistant professor at Columbia University. He won about $ 138,000 (which is today the purchase value of nearly 1 million Euro equivalent ), graced as the " smartest man in the world ", the cover of Time Magazine and got a well-paying culture heading in an NBC morning show.

Although there was already very early rumors of fraudulent practices in the quiz shows, it took until the first newspaper reports described the accusations of manipulation. A reserve candidate of the insignificant game show " Dotto " finally explained that he had noticed that a winner las backstage in a notebook in which all the answers to the questions put to it were recorded. Only then in 1958 the confessions of Herb stamp, one of the best-known candidates have been " Twenty-One" printed, which was until then no one publish, as the program manager had denied them. Stamp said he and many other candidates would have gotten all the answers to the game questions in advance. He had appeared as a poor ex -GI At the direction of the Producer, the laborious studies must be financed. Furthermore, he had been subjected to a veritable training, where his appearance was meticulously rehearsed: stuttering, biting her lip and the exact type of question answering. Then one day he was told that he had to lose to Van Doren, he pity the quota. Of which deeply hurt to stamp now wanted revenge.

Legal processing

In the summer of 1958 for the first time employed a New York court with the manipulation allegations. But the judge Mitchell Schweitzer refused to publish the evidence the grand jury. ( He was expelled in the 1970s due to corruption of the Bar Association. ) Thereupon, the Congress Special Committee for legislative oversight turned on who was responsible for the telecommunications and thus also for television. The Special Committee interviewed candidates, producers, sponsors and station managers and led in October and November 1959 through public hearings.

The investigations were difficult, as most ex- candidates were worried about their public reputation and not wanting to testify. The transmitter and sponsors denied any knowledge of the quiz show practices. Stamp held them before, to be in psychiatric treatment. Nevertheless, new shows of cheating were always transferred: In For Love or Money, the devices were manipulated to keep the profit as low as possible, the same questions were as provided in the casting at Name That Tune and The Big Surprise in the show, at the 64,000 - $ question, there were only questions from the field of the respective candidates. When transmitting, Tic Tac Toe, it was like " Twenty-One" the questions in advance easy. Producer Howard Felsher TTT finally admitted the manipulation. According to him, all quiz shows has been cheated on more than 75 %. And he insisted: "I never had to do something really wrong with the feeling. " But decisive factor was the statement of the Twenty -One candidate James Snodgrass, who had sent him the answers given to safety before the shipment by registered mail to yourself. This evidence was irrefutable. After much denial finally admitted also van Doren his involvement in the manipulation. "I would almost give anything if I could make the last three years of my life undone ," he told the court. But his reputation and his university career were destroyed.

The problem was that all manipulations were accused those responsible for it damaligem American law were indeed libelous, but not punishable. Since then, Americans did not pay a television license fee, none have suffered a financial loss. Therefore one also condemned anyone for fraud on the public. Only one group of candidates and some producer were found guilty of " obstruction of justice " and " false statement ".

Follow

A direct consequence of the investigations was that the sender immediately took all the quiz shows with high profits from the program and program leaders and facilitators dismissed. Some were never again worked for television. In addition, all shipments to strict state control were assumed in the U.S. from there. And the discredited notion quiz show disappeared from the American usage and was replaced by the word game show.

At least as far-reaching were the social effects. "The attack against the broadcaster fraud was just a trivial, formerly crack in the foundation of that complacency and apathy that American life increasingly more certain ," wrote the then Special Committee investigators Goodwin. The Americans had lost their naivete, easy to believe in what they could see. Even President Dwight D. Eisenhower declared, with this fraud " something terrible was done to " be to the American people.

The development of and quiz shows in Germany remained of this scandal unaffected, although at that time the two most affected formats were broadcast here: " Would you knew it, " " All or Nothing " ("The $ 64,000 Question" ) and ( " Twenty-One "). But in the quote- independent public television was - at that time - no manipulation theme.

Adoption into popular culture

• The U.S. scandal of the 1950s was filmed in 1994 by Robert Redford titled quiz show. The screenplay is essentially based on the memoirs of Richard N. Goodwin, then investigators of Congress Special Committee, later important adviser to President John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.
• The quiz show scandal is an element in John Steinbeck's novel Money makes money (German 1964, English:. The Winter of Our Discontent, 1961).
• Philip K. Dick's classic time out of joint (German 1962, English:. Time out of Joint, 1959), which creates the scenario of a fake reality, created under the influence of that manipulation allegations.
• Even with the Simpsons, the scandal was mentioned: In the episode In the beginning was the Word (English: Lisa 's First Word, 1992) asserts Grandpa Abe to have built his house with his own hands. Homer knows better: "No, Dad. You won it on One Of Those crooked 1950s game shows. " ( " No, Dad. You 've won it in one of these dishonest game shows of the 1950s. " )

Other cases of manipulation

• In November 1953 launched on German television, the rate of skill and show it and you were at the candidates from the studio audience selected based on the number of their ticket. Game director was Hans -Peter Rieschel. The first broadcast was catastrophic: "Without precise Director, explains cumbersome and trendy, and threatened by various coincidences, the consignment was tormented by the tedious minutes. Despite considerable cash prizes ... the audience was reluctant to join in on the stage " Therefore Rieschel placed for the second episode preselected candidates -. Although they were not informed about the course of the game - with tickets prepared in the audience. Rieschel was dismissed from NWDR ( the precursor of transmitter WDR and NDR ) immediately and sold the broadcast.
• In the 48th betting that episode on September 3, 1988, the Titanic editor Bernd Fritz won his wager under the pseudonym Thomas Rautenberg. He had pretended to be able to recognize the color of crayons only on taste. Fritz had, however, under the edge of the ' black glasses ', which should make a seeing of the pins impossible, seen through. He was known on the show to reveal the trick until the next edition of the Titanic and was booed by the audience for this.
• In the Swiss quiz show risk from 5 January 1998, a player won 95,000 Swiss francs. The fraud flew on but, because the candidate to a question ( head of the year ) a wrong answer ( Viorel Moldovan ) announced that had been correct but in a subsequent question. The fraud could take place because at the rehearsal in the afternoon to test candidates the same questions were asked in public. They threw the shipment line so later naivety. The questions and answers in the afternoon was co-written by accomplices in the audience. In the following days, the candidate denied the fraud and spoke of chance. Only after crushing burden of proof and confessions of his accomplices, he admitted the fraud. He was subsequently sentenced at second instance to four and a half months in prison on probation.
• In the English version of the show Who Wants to be a Millionaire? won on 10 September 2001, Charles Ingram the grand prize. In reviewing the record, it turned out that an assistant had helped by cough in the responses of the audience Ingram. Ingram did not get the money, he appeared instead and sentenced to probation in 2003.
• 2006 managed Reinhold hit under a false name for a second time on the chair of the RTL quiz show Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Already in 2003 he had applied under the wrong name Luis Meyer for the show, but won only 500 euros. Because of the name of inequality that was then noticed anyone. The low profit had so annoyed him so that he unlawfully applied a second time, he explained. The station refused to pay the profit in the amount of 64,000 euros and considered legal action.
• The former call-in station 9Live has repeatedly been accused of fraud by viewers of alleged arbitrary rule interpretations and alleged tampering with the on-screen graphics.