New Reality Show 'Kid Nation' Causing Controversy

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"Kid Nation" is causing controversy. This is a reality TV show in which 40 kids spent 40 days building their own society. No adults. Think of it as "Lord of the Flies" without all the gore.

It's a CBS show for later this fall, but already people are saying it might go too far, that the kids might be exploited. The question involved is whether child labor laws were enforced and the fact that several kids suffered injuries during the filming, most described as minor and which were treated immediately. The main beef seems to be that the New Mexico Department of Labor didn't go onto the set to see what was happening.

Here's my take. CBS crews were filming virtually everything that went on. If there was something really bad there and the parents were suing, let's say, there is no way a major network wouldn't be forced to give up the tape to see what happened, good or bad.

Now I don't know what happened on the set, but I think the kids were probably all right or else we would have heard the parents screaming bloody murder already. The fact is, sounds like camp to me. Kids away for 40 days, they play roles, there were catering trucks on the set, and the usual stuff with dressing room trailers and accommodations.

ABC News wants to investigate, and I hope they get to the bottom of it. But at first glance I'd say it might be that one network wishes it had thought of what the other network thought of first.

"Kid Nation," what a concept. The only thing that would ruin it if something bad happens to the kids. "Lord of the Flies" could get away with bad stuff, but not a major network. Just a guess.

That's My Word.

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