ON TONIGHT'S "PRIMETIME: WHAT WOULD YOU DO?"
What if you saw an elderly man being cruelly taunted by teenagers � would you confront them? Will restaurant patrons intervene when three boys "dine and dash?" What if you noticed EMTs standing by, not coming to the aid of a collapsed woman? Some cases seem to cry out for action - while others seem to present a choice. What would YOU do?
Using hidden cameras, "What Would You Do?" establishes everyday scenarios and then captures people's reactions. Whether people are compelled to act or mind their own business, John Qui�ones reports on their split-second and often surprising decision-making process. "Primetime: What Would You Do?" airs tonight, FRIDAY, JANUARY 7 (9:00-10:00 p.m., ET) on ABC.
This week's scenarios include:
· EMTs on Break, not Willing to Help: Will any bystanders intervene when two emergency medical technicians, clearly on break, stand by and do nothing to help a woman who collapses right in front of them?
· You Break it, You Buy it: A "WWYD?" "shopper" accidentally breaks something at a high end interior design showroom chock full of expensive home furnishings. What will happen when she asks the surrounding shoppers to remain quiet and not tell the manager what happened or who was at fault? At what point will tempers flare?
· Dine and Dash: Three loud teenage boys, out for a meal at an established family restaurant, dare each other to exit without paying for their food. When the check arrives, one by one they slyly make their way out of the diner � having just pulled off a "dine and dash." How will fellow diners respond?
· Yelling at the Elderly: What will people do if they saw an elderly man being taunted by a group of teenage boys -- will anyone confront the kids and step in to save the senior? What will happen if, instead of an elderly man, the boys decide to harass an elderly woman? Finally, what if the bullies are teenage girls?
"Primetime: What Would You Do?" has won awards from the Chicago International Television Festival, and the Avon Foundation's 2006 Voice of Change Award for exposing "injustice and wrongdoing against women and bringing the message of domestic violence to the mainstream." The Columbia Journalism Review has called the program "a Candid Camera of Ethics."
David Sloan is executive producer and Danielle Baum Rossen is the senior broadcast producer of "Primetime: What Would You Do?"
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