Too Real for RTV

In the article When Reality TV Get's Too Real Jeremy W. Peters mentions "the sticky situations that reality-show producers can find themselves in as they document unpredictable and unstable subjects or situations." However, I have to wonder why is it that reality tv is focusing on such trainwreck individuals? That's hardly reality for most people and why is it entertaining for us to watch someone make bad decisions and risk their lives? When shows like Intervention show scenes such as Pam the alcoholic drunk-driving, they are in fact glamorizing and blanketing the seriousness of the situation. It was wrong for the crew to not stop her. Thousands of people die each year in car accidents from alcohol-related fatalities. It doesn't matter if these people make "great television," they're putting innocent people's lives at risk and perhaps they wouldn't be motivated to perform such drastic actions if there was no video camera present.