“Jersey Shore”, MTV, & Sea Isle City???

For those who have not heard of the successful show “The Jersey Shore” which airs on MTV, this is a show with reality drama and much controversy. Based at a Jersey Shore Town, this MTV reality show hosted a group of Italian/American friends who share a house at the Jersey Shore for the summer.

This concept happens up and down the Jersey shore all the time. In South Jersey Shore towns such as Sea Isle City, Avalon, Margate, Ventnor, and Wildwood, just to mention a few, group rentals for the summer season are a common factor in summer at the Jersey Shore. And although they may not be as dramatic as the cast on MTV, the reality is closer to truth than not.

The popular MTV show has everyone talking about the controversy and whether or not it is a good publicity for the resort towns. Living in Sea Isle City, which has been mentioned as a potential spot for “Jersey Shore”, the verdict is not out as to whether residents and visitors want this in their town.

When an article recently came out and one of the main characters of the show mentioned possibly coming to Sea Isle City, word got around and everyone was buzzing about it. The initial response seemed to be negative with no one wanting it to be in Sea Isle. Since I’m of the older crowd and received opinions from people who don’t watch “Jersey Shore”, I decided to do an impartial survey. I sent the article talking about coming to Sea Isle to thirty of my contacts with the title: “Thought you might enjoy this”. I waited and within thirty minutes, the responses started coming in. By the end of the evening, I had fourteen of my contacts send back a response, and with them not knowing my opinion, I felt I received a good impartial survey.

Of the fourteen responses, nine were positive and five were not. Of the positive, seven knew the show well and either loved it, or had friends and family that did. They thought it would be great for Sea Isle and help put us on the map. The other five felt it would destroy the small town summer resort and bring in trouble. A few, who rent their property, hoped it would help bring in more rentals and increase the price of the rentals.

Word has it that the City of Sea Isle is working on an ordinance for “Filming” in Sea Isle. What the ordinance would allow or not is not clear but it seems the City of Sea Isle does not want “Jersey Shore” to be a part of Sea Isle’s personality.

MTV denied Sea Isle City as a possibility for a location and since then it seems the “Jersey Shore” may be going nationwide. A location such as South Beach Miami, Las Vegas, or Los Angeles has been mentioned as possible locations. Since “Jersey Shore” brought in the highest ratings for an MTV show ever as its final episode aired and had 4.8million viewers, the show has potential to go global.

Time will tell.