Mal Fletcher comments on a new reality TV programme

Now it's Big Donor's time in the spotlight.

Nobody would begrudge a fellow human being the opportunity to receive life-enriching or life-saving treatment. However, there are boundaries we should not cross, both in terms of good taste and ethics.

The producers of this program are demonstrating a remarkable lack of empathy for those in need of organ transplants. Turning patients into contestants who must convince an audience that they deserve a transplant trivialises their plight and makes a serious medical issue seem trite.

Supporters sometimes claim that shows of this kind actually serve a public education remit, demonstrating how human beings react under specific pressures. In fact, they all too often demean human beings, exploiting people who have real emotional or psychological needs, for the titillation of the audience.

There's only one motive for putting shows like Big Donor to air and that is financial.

We may dismiss programmes like Big Donor or Big Brother as low-brow tripe, but we shouldn't underestimate their ability to help shape morals and values, especially among the young. Yes, they are made for entertainment, not education. But studies the world over have demonstrated the power of entertainment to educate - either directly or by osmosis and association.

In the case of Big Donor, what are Endemol saying to the young about the dignity of human life and the respect we should show to those who are suffering? With Big Brother, what are they saying about problem resolution and the service of others?

The reality TV genre thrives on the oxygen of shock-publicity. The problem with shocks is that to be effective they must become more shocking overtime. One generation's 'extreme' is often the next generation's 'mundane'. After Big Donor, what's next?

What will the next generation of Big Brother look like? Who's to say that someday we might not find entertainment value in turning the cameras on people who haven't consented to being filmed?

At the end of the day all the protests and comment pieces like this one will make little or no real difference. People like me are not the ones who watch reality TV anyway. The only way to bring change will be for those who would otherwise have watched to switch off - not just this particular program, but other shows made along the same lines.

Here's my challenge to all the Big Brother fans out there. What kind of world do you want to live in ten years from now? What kind of media do you want pumping values into the next generation - say, your own kids? What will you do now to set that in motion?

Media is a business that, like any other, works on the principles of supply and demand. Let's switch off the demand and see if it changes what the producers supply.