ambush television

Noun

ambush television (uncountable)

1. A television format in which guests are deliberately tricked into embarrassing or upsetting confrontations.
   • The reasoning usually goes along the lines: ' Talk shows, which started out innocently, have degenerated into ambush television'.2002, Toni Johnson-Woods, Big Bother, page 210
   • The case had focused attention on “ambush” television and titillating daytime TV tactics, with Schmitz's lawyers arguing that the show misled him into believing he was going to meet the woman of his dreams.2005, Sherry Diestler, Becoming a Critical Thinker: A User Friendly Manual, page 132
2. A television format in which a hidden camera captures a public prank played on unsuspecting people.
   • An "ambush" television interview conducted on a public street does not violate the federal wiretap statute.1989, LDRC 50-state Survey - Volume 7; Volumes 9-11, page 593
   • An increasingly controversial incarnation of reality television is the hidden camera show, or “ambush television,” in which a prank is played at the expense of an unsuspecting victim.2004, Virginia Sports and Entertainment Law Journal - Volume 4, page 82