Talk:Alaskan Bush People

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This article was originally created in article space in sub-stub condition. I WP:BOLDly moved it to draftspace, where nothing was done except deletion. This is par for the course when dealing with AFC and their apparent belief that we're not here to collaborate on and expand our coverage of what's notable in the world and that it's someone else's job to do all the real work while they pick low-hanging fruit. Despite ongoing discussion (more like lip service) about boldly moving content to draftspace and the importance of deletion processes, I quit doing such moves rather quickly. The fact that it wasn't resulting in expanding our coverage of notable topics was the main reason why, with that version of the article being the poster child for such. That version of the article contained mention of the legal troubles of the Brown family, which at the time included scores of charges of theft and unsworn falsification, a case which went almost as far back as the program itself. As no conviction had been handed down at that time, there was no reason to belabor the point per WP:BLP.

Fast forward to now: the article has been re-created, while lacking the history of the deleted version, another favorite tactic of admins active in AFC. Billy and Joshua Brown have been convicted of a small subset of those charges, presumably a plea deal, but that wasn't specified. This has been reported aplenty by tabloid media, but also by credible enough outlets such as the Alaska Dispatch News and Fox News, among others (Google reports approximately 549,000 hits for the search string "alaskan bush people jail"). Both stories linked above prominently mention the program and the relation of the two Browns to the program.

This version of the article is typical of what our coverage of reality TV has come to resemble as of late: a content framework created merely to support an episode guide, while offering little or no encyclopedic information about the program itself. This amounts to creating content for content's sake, rather than content which is accessible to a general audience, which would include people who don't watch the program or who don't watch television at all. These sort of articles also give off a strong whiff of being created as part of the producers' social media strategy, rather than factual, neutral encyclopedia entries. Alaska: The Last Frontier is in a little better shape than numerous other articles which have followed. However, I watch that program on occasion, as a dear friend is obsessed with it and has it on just about every time I go and visit her. Apart from my own personal familiarity with the Kilcher family, I can deduce that the program is about a family farming and ranching operation which has existed since the 1940s. That is not reflected in the least in that article. Instead, it reads like another WP:INUNIVERSE exercise, except that the article does acknowledge the sizable small town near to the Kilcher homestead which the program typically avoids acknowledging. It's also a celebrity worship exercise by virtue of giving more weight to Jewel than to her plenty notable grandfather, a POV which has been floating around on the 'net since long before Wikipedia ever existed.

I mention that program as an example of the pattern I've observed throughout these reality TV articles for years. If I can see right through the lack of credibility herein, don't you suppose that others can, too? It suggests that our target audience are people who are here to mindlessly consume content and are incapable of discerning what they're being offered. Moreover, the fractured article history and lack of mention of the convictions of Billy and Joshua Brown suggests that we're trying to whitewash that information. As convictions were handed down and there's plenty of media coverage of same, there's no way that anyone can credibly hide behind BLP and try to suppress it. Judge Pallenberg was an applicant for the most recent vacancy on the Alaska Supreme Court at the time of this trial and probably relished in the easy pickings and wide media exposure provided to him by presiding over the case. At least that's the impression I developed from the media coverage, particularly of his remarks from the bench, but now that doesn't matter so much because he wasn't appointed to the position. RadioKAOS / Talk to me, Billy / Transmissions 22:30, 25 October 2016 (UTC)

But wait, there's more! We have an editor out there who evidently believes that the purpose of these reality television articles is either to serve as a promotional vehicle or as an episode guide rather than an encyclopedia entry. I have to say "evidently" because this editor has shown a fondness for edit warring while at the same time absolutely refusing to explain their actions. They've created or expanded a number of similar articles in like fashion, with no substance and cherry-picked sources. This has extended to attempts at whitewashing. Obviously, I've explained plenty, while they've explained nothing. You need sources? Here's one news article from 2014. Here's a far more recent article by the same reporter published in the same newspaper. Of particular note are several paragraphs contained in that latter article:

Alaska has a love-hate relationship with the dozens of shows that sometimes make a bearded, frontier caricature of life in the 49th state.

Shows like "Alaskan Bush People" drum up huge ratings but outrage some Alaskans with over-the-top portrayals of characters trying to live an allegedly remote life 30 minutes from a pizza parlor and inaccurate depictions of nearby communities.

Some of the Brown family featured on that show now have criminal records here: Patriarch Billy Brown, then 63, and his 33-year-old son, Joshua "Bam Bam" Brown, were each sentenced to 30 days in jail last June for lying about their residency on Permanent Fund dividend applications.

This presents a much different view of this particular topic and related topics than what this editor has attempted to push through their editing activity. So let me get this straight: the Alaska Dispatch News is a reliable source when it suits your purposes, namely so long as the "sources" are the complimentary, in-universe "reporting" of Emily Fehrenbacher, but any other reporting by the ADN is an example of backwoods hillbilly media that needs to be discredited at all costs? That's the exact message being sent here by this editor. It doesn't pass a smell test even with both nostrils plugged up. RadioKAOS / Talk to me, Billy / Transmissions 00:56, 13 January 2017 (UTC)

Unless someone objects, I'm going to start a mass revamp of the article over the next couple of days and add the controversy regarding the unsworn convictions by the Brown family. Also, I think we should find some sources regarding the production and reception, as well as the cast. Meanwhile, I've asked Cyphoidbomb (talk · contribs · blocks · protections · deletions · page moves · rights · RfA), an uninvolved administrator, for his thoughts on the matter. Lord Sjones23 (talk - contributions) 18:03, 22 January 2017 (UTC)

The above is an awful lot to read, but it seems to boil down to:

1. The AFC process is crummy, as are the admins who help out there.
2. If only there were a way to WP:HISTMERGE this article with the deleted sub-sections
3. The state of reality show articles in general is poor, as they tend to focus on in-universe content.
4. This article should contain information on the Brown family's convictions.
5. I know Jewel's family.
6. Koala15 has been removing maintenance templates without appropriate justification or explanation, so they must be interested in promotion of the show.

I hope I got most of the important points down. Let's start with #6. Koala, can you please provide an explanation for why you are removing the maintenance templates? Thanks. Cyphoidbomb (talk) 18:44, 22 January 2017 (UTC)