pop culture
1970s TV Series Emergency! – Portrayal of Firefighters and Paramedics in Los Angeles County
“Emergency” was an action-packed drama that followed the daily lives of firefighters and paramedics in LA County.
The 1970s prime-time television series “Emergency!” was an action-packed drama that followed the daily lives of courageous firefighters and paramedics in Los Angeles County. The show, which aired from 1972 to 1979, was praised not only for its gripping storylines and character development but also for its realistic portrayal of the emergency services industry. It provided a compelling look into the challenges and triumphs faced by first responders, highlighting their incredible dedication and heroism in the face of danger.

The Origin of Emergency!
The show was spun off from the original series “Adam-12,” which was also set in Los Angeles and followed the lives of two police officers. “Emergency!” took the same approach but shifted its focus to the lives of firefighters and paramedics. This innovative show was created by Robert A. Cinader and Jack Webb, the latter also known for producing “Adam-12” and “Dragnet.”
At the heart of “Emergency!” was its talented cast, led by Randolph Mantooth, who portrayed firefighter and paramedic John Gage. Mantooth’s charismatic performance was complemented by Kevin Tighe, who played his reliable partner Roy DeSoto. The ensemble cast also included Julie London, who breathed life into nurse Dixie McCall; Bobby Troup, who played the compassionate Dr. Joe Early; and Robert Fuller, who took on the role of the authoritative Dr. Kelly Brackett.
One of the show’s standout features was its commitment to authenticity. It was praised for its accurate portrayal of the emergency services industry, an effort bolstered by the involvement of real-life firefighters and paramedics serving as technical advisors. This attention to detail extended to the use of actual emergency vehicles and equipment, earning the show a loyal following of industry professionals and curious viewers alike.
“Emergency!” was known for its gripping action scenes, which often involved realistic special effects that depicted explosions, fires, and other dangerous situations. The show’s excitement wasn’t limited to physical dangers; it also tackled significant social issues of the time, such as drug abuse, mental health, and domestic violence. This made “Emergency!” a groundbreaking program that addressed topics other shows of the era often shied away from.
Despite its success, “Emergency!” was canceled in 1979 after seven impactful seasons. However, its legacy persisted. The show paved the way for subsequent action-packed dramas, such as “CHiPs” and “Miami Vice,” and it inspired a new generation of viewers to pursue careers in emergency services. The influence of “Emergency!” is also seen in modern medical dramas like “ER” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” which continue to blend high-stakes action with personal and social issues.
In retrospect, “Emergency!” not only entertained millions but also educated the public about the critical work of emergency responders and healthcare professionals, leaving a lasting impact on both television and real-world perceptions of these vital services.

Emergency! was a groundbreaking television series that meticulously followed the daily lives and challenges of firefighters and paramedics in Los Angeles County. The show was universally praised for its realistic portrayal of the emergency services industry, as well as for its thrilling and hair-raising action scenes. The cast was spearheaded by the talented Randolph Mantooth and Kevin Tighe, who delivered compelling performances that were both heartfelt and authentic. They were joined by a stellar supporting cast, including Julie London, Bobby Troup, and Robert Fuller, each bringing their unique charisma and depth to the show. Emergency! was initially spun off from the original series Adam-12, yet it carved out its own significant legacy, leaving an indelible mark on the television industry. More than just entertainment, the series brought public attention to the vital and courageous work of emergency responders, inspiring many to pursue careers in this essential field.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency!
https://stmdailynews.com/category/entertainment/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_County_Fire_Department
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Entertainment
Lifestyle Icon Martha Stewart Confirmed As Vivid Sydney 2025’s Global Storyteller

Vivid Sydney 2025 in Conversation with Martha Stewart. Image credit – Destination NSW
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Entertainment
‘Love Is Blind’ contestants count as employees − new US government agency finding could shake up reality TV production
Reality TV contestants lack employee rights, but the NLRB’s complaint may change their classification and pay protections.

David Arditi, University of Texas at Arlington
When members of a reality TV show’s cast sign a contract to participate in a show, they typically do so more for the exposure than the pay – and in many cases they do not earn a dime.
Employers get away with what may appear to be a violation of basic labor laws because those contestants are classified as independent contractors, not employees. In the eyes of the law, they do not have the same protections most workers get with just about any other kind of job, such as the freedom to join unions.
It also means that the National Labor Relations Board does not have jurisdiction over them. This may soon change after the government agency filed a complaint against Delirium TV and Kinetic Content, the producers of “Love Is Blind.”
The NLRB complaint states that reality TV contestants are employees and therefore have the right to join a union. Former “Love Is Blind” contestants Renee Poche and Nicholas Thompson had filed a petition requesting this action. In addition to not being able to join a union, they couldn’t even discuss the terms of their contracts due to nondisclosure agreements.
As a sociologist who studies popular culture and labor, I have argued for years that reality TV stars and musicians should be classified as employees.
Reality TV participants, including many of the stars of those shows, are essentially the unpaid interns of the entertainment industry, even though it’s their stories, personalities and talent that attract and hook viewers.
Offering contestants paltry pay
Today’s economy is saturated with precarious employment practices where many corporations classify workers as independent contractors. From musicians to influencers, people work gig jobs where there is no guarantee of pay or employment.
“Cupcake Wars,” “Love Is Blind” and other reality TV shows thrive thanks to a simple business model: They are cheap to produce. One reason for that is most participants are independent contractors who work for free or earn paltry pay under the guise of chasing their dreams or gaining exposure.
This arrangement might change after the new NLRB complaint. The NLRB was created during President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal as an independent government agency tasked with protecting and regulating workers’ rights.
One of its key responsibilities is regulating unions and determining workers’ right to strike. It determines who can join a union and whether a strike is legal.
Providing a gold mine for networks
To conduct research for my book “Getting Signed: Record Contracts, Musicians, and Power in Society,” I interviewed contestants on “The Voice.”
Former contestants repeatedly told me that the television exposure did little to help their careers.
Prior to joining the show, many of the musicians were trying to scratch out a living through touring or performing. They put their developing careers on pause to chase their dreams.
However, the show’s contracts have stipulated that contestants cannot perform, sell their name, image and likeness, or record new music while on “The Voice.”
Furthermore, viewers might not realize just how profitable these reality shows are.
Take “House Hunters.” The show follows a prospective homebuyer as they tour three homes. Homebuyers featured on the show have noted that they earn only US$500 for their work, and the episodes take three to five days and about 30 hours to film.
The show’s producers don’t pay the real estate agents to be on it.
The low pay for people on reality TV shows matches the low budget for these shows. A former participant wrote that episodes of “House Hunters” cost about $50,000 to shoot. Prime-time sitcoms, by comparison, have a budget of up to $3 million per episode.
Organizing unions within reality TV
That massive budget gap between reality TV and sitcoms is not simply due to an absence of star actors.
Many scripted television shows are based in Los Angeles, where camera crews, stunt doubles, costume artisans, makeup artists and hair stylists are unionized. But shows like “House Hunters,” which are filmed across the country, recruit crews from right-to-work states.
Employees in those places cannot be compelled to join a union or pay union dues as a condition of employment. For these reasons, unions have far less power in these states than they do in places traditionally associated with show business, such as California and New York.
I think reality TV might become the next show business labor battle. If the NLRB forces “Love Is Blind” to treat its stars and other on-screen participants as employees, it could cascade.
Reality TV production companies could someday be required to pay all contestants wages and limit the hours they work. The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, the union known as SAG-AFTRA, could begin to recruit those workers as dues-paying members.
But it’s not certain that any of this will happen. There are many hearings, court cases and appeals in store before it becomes enforceable. And since President-elect Donald Trump will take office before the hearing is scheduled to occur, his appointees could change course.
Still, I think the NLRB’s action demonstrates that reality TV contestants are finally becoming recognized as workers who deserve to be treated better by their employers.
Some portions of this article first appeared in an article published on Sept. 21, 2023.
David Arditi, Professor of Sociology, University of Texas at Arlington
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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STM Blog
How Playboy skirted the anti-porn crusade of the 1950s

Whitney Strub, Rutgers University – Newark
Playboy’s decision earlier this month to jettison the nude images in its print edition lays bare the magazine’s own naked truth: it was always really a lifestyle magazine, with nudes simply acting as window dressing.
If it seems counterintuitive for a quasi-smut mag to renounce its own seeming raison d’etre, it’s important to remember that the magazine, since its inception, always held itself at a distance from the world of pornography.
The aspiration of Hugh Hefner’s project was cultural legitimacy – not a globally recognized logo (today, more profitable than the magazine itself), nor the cultivation of a “girl next door” image.
The magazine – at least, how it presented itself – was simply too classy to be confused for porn.
For the most part, it worked.
As a historian, I’ve written about the postwar court battles over pornography and obscenity. And what’s most striking about Playboy’s story is how absent the magazine was from these legal wranglings.
An appeal to masculine taste
Look no further than Playboy’s debut issue, which featured Marilyn Monroe on the cover.
Its famous opening manifesto announced: “If you’re a man between the ages of 18 and 80, Playboy is meant for you.” Their “articles, fiction, picture stories, cartoons, humor” would all be culled to “form a pleasure-primer styled to the masculine taste.”
Before Playboy, other magazines did feature nude photos, but they were seen as culturally lowbrow: tawdry publications for unsophisticated readers. Other magazines, most notably Esquire, would position scantily clad women next to articles on food, style and other central features of the developing consumer culture, but not quite as boldly as Hefner’s iconic centerfolds.
Still, Playboy treated its own nudity as playful and passé. While it did occupy the “centerfold,” it was packaged as simply another accoutrement of the modern man’s cultural repertoire, which included knowledge of proper cocktail proportions and the finer points of the Miles Davis discography.
The crusade against smut
Playboy’s debut came just one year before America’s moral panic over smut came to a head.
The House Select Committee on Current Pornographic Materials led the charge with a December 1952 report that highlighted “cheesecake” and “girlie” magazines, crime comics for children and, particularly, the burgeoning genre of lesbian pulp fiction novels, which – as the committee wrote in prose befitting its own targets – were “filled with sordid, filthy statements based upon sexual deviations and perversions.”
Yet even in the midst of this frenzied postwar moral righteousness, Playboy eased comfortably into the mainstream.
A few years later, when Democratic Senator Estes Kefauver launched his own anti-porn crusade, Playboy remained conspicuously absent from the hearings, which drew headlines like The New York Times’ “Smut Held Cause of Delinquency.”
Possessing presidential aspirations (and finely attuned to the optics of media spectacle, having pioneered televised hearings in his earlier investigations of organized crime), Kefauver decided against subpoenaing Hefner.
Instead, he tacitly pandered to anti-Semitic sentiment by forcefully grilling a predominantly Jewish group of erotic distributors. The white-bread Hefner remained above the fray while smut peddlers like Abraham Rubin, Edward Mishkin and Samuel Roth reluctantly testified before Congress. (Roth would suffer the most, spending five years in federal prison for distributing material not substantially different from Hefner’s. His case also led to the 1957 Supreme Court precedent that still undergirds modern obscenity law.)
‘Skirting’ trouble
If Playboy emerged remarkably unscathed from these sexual-political skirmishes, Hefner nonetheless stayed perpetually cautious, calibrating the magazine to fit shifting contexts.
The pubic hair battles with Penthouse in the early 1970s – when Playboy started publishing more graphic images to compete in the expanding adult market – are most famous. But less remembered are earlier adjustments Hefner made to dissociate Playboy from cultural riffraff.
When Time covered the “horde of [Playboy] imitators yipping after pay dirt” in April 1957, it noted that new nude magazines like Caper, Nugget and Rogue were outpacing Playboy in “the smirk, the leer, and the female torso.”
Yet rather going skin-for-skin with its competitors, Playboy tried to distinguish itself through topnotch fiction and journalism (as well as science fiction, as PhD candidate Jordan Carroll notes in his recent study of the magazine).
According to Time, Playboy ultimately found that the most “effective censor was success”; in response to growing readership and ad revenue, the magazine “toned down its gags and dressed up its girls.”
Indeed, in one striking 1962 letter sent to Hefner by a suburban Chicago chapter of the conservative Citizens for Decent Literature, the group happily informed him that that it had decided not to include Playboy among its list of 37 magazines that should be removed from local newsstands.
Later, in the 1970s, Playboy would attempt to compete with the more graphic pornography unleashed by the sexual revolution and the weakening of obscenity laws. More recently, it has reshaped its content to adhere to the strict regulations of social media sites like Facebook and Instagram, which forbid users from posting female (but not male) nipples.
Clearly, 2015 is not the first time Playboy has switched up its strategy to respond to market forces.
The bunny supplants the girl next door
If Hefner’s erotic vision was quaint enough to pass muster even with some conservatives in the early 1960s, today it’s as retrograde as Don Draper. As Washington Post columnist Mireille Miller-Young observes, today’s girl next door isn’t uniformly white, thin, heterosexual and presented with a smarmy editorial voice. Instead, she could be a queer woman of color. She might even be publishing her own porn.
While the magazine once walked a tightrope between smut and sophistication, branding always remained Playboy’s real strength.
Today, 40% of its revenue comes from China – where the magazine itself isn’t even sold. Instead, a recognizable bunny logo that appears on products ranging from cigarette lighters to coffee mugs is what persists.
With limitless free online nudity a click away, the cash flow resides in a licensed logo that represents an upwardly mobile, urban lifestyle – much like it always did.
Whitney Strub, Associate Professor and Director of Women’s and Gender Studies, Rutgers University – Newark
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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