Media Diary Entry 2: Free Choice Week – Come Dine with Me

The media text that I have chosen to analyse is the ‘Channel 4’ TV show ‘Come Dine with Me’. This is a reality show in which 4 – 5 contestants have to host an evening for the other guests by cooking a three-course meal and present entertainment. They individually judge each other’s nights with a score out of 10 and at the end of the week whoever has the most points wins £1000 in cash.

Name of the text – TV show ‘Come Dine with Me’.

Date/Time of air – One show is aired once a day, generally between 4pm and 5pm, spilt into 4 short consecutive shows.

Where did you find it? – This show is most commonly run on the British TV show channel ‘Channel 4’. It is also occasionally shown on the TV show channel ‘E4’.

Genre – This show is under the genre of cooking shows but it is also a competition show.

Institution producing the text – Shiver Productions, formally ITV studios until 2013.

Target Audience – This show is generally shown in the evening when people are coming home from work or school, indicating that the audience is people that are in work and education who are interested in cooking and hospitality. This show can be consumed by people of all ages, as it is appropriate for everyone with the small elements of humour that it has to offer. However I would say that it would be greatly consumed by working to middle class people as this is the class of people that the contestants tend to be. I would also say that there is no specific geographical location where this show is watched more because the show is filmed all over the UK.

Your reaction to the text – I enjoy watching this TV show as I am a regular consumer of this text and I have been for a long time. I like the comedic element of the show because it adds a lot of appeal to more young people such as myself to watch this show. The times of the day that this show are convenient for me as I generally come home from school at the time that the show airs. I also believe the show to be educational as the contestants cook a range of different meals from a range of different countries and cultures.

Why would people consume the text? – I believe that people would watch this show because it is entertaining for a lot of people as there is comedy and a lot of amateur cooking. The audience can also gain something from the show as the ‘Channel 4’ website have a page full of all the recipes used in the show, so the audience can give some of the dishes a try for themselves.

Could some people react in different ways to the text? – Some people may connote this show in a negative way because the narrator makes fun of the contestants behind their backs. While some will find this entertaining and funny to watch, others will be offended by it, claiming that it is slamming the cooking skills of the contestants and portraying them as lower class people when most are rather high class and important business people that are to be respected.