Why show the Worst?

I have had the chance to watch TV both last night and this morning. Watching Television is not something I do. I listen to it, yes, while I am wandering around the house DOING things. My husband has control of the remote, which I gladly gave. Most times, if I actually sit with the family to watch, I usually fall asleep on the hubby's lap.
I decided last night that I was going to start my vacation early, which meant sitting on the couch with control of the remote. Bad, baaaaad move. I did NOT like what I found.

Why is it that we, a nation with so many prejudices, find it entertaining to watch shows that create MORE prejudice by how people are portrayed?

*First there was Jersey Shore. This random group of crazy kids/young adults, get picked to do a show by how nuts they can be, claiming they are the true portrayal of the Jersey Shore. Makes me NOT want to go there.
*Then there was Buckwild. We have images of hick, and these kids decide to match what we imagine Huck Fin and Tom Sawyer to be. They scream, they fight, they play in mud, drive dirty trucks, and generally talk so slurred you can't understand what they say. And they claim their "Holler" (place they live) is the norm in West Virginia. More teens/young adults, acting a fool, and keeping people from visiting their state.
*Oh, we can't forget Washington Heights, can we? It hasn't premiered yet, but just the commercials make me cringe. A bunch of teens/young adults again, all with issues. This group happens to be mixed between preppy and gangsta, both in clothing and attitude. Now we will have it set in our minds that THIS behavior is the 'norm' in Washington Heights and won't want to visit there either.

I know what you are thinking, if we did a show about the normal life of normal people, we would be SUPER bored. Probably. I guess we all need a little Honey Boo Boo to make ourselves feel a little better about who we are. I only needed to see THAT once.
So why show the Worst in people? Because the Best doesn't get you the ratings. I guess I will have a little less false advertizing in my home and get my kids out there to make their own judgments.
I don't want to promote this stuff, but just in case you want to look for yourself to see what I am talking about without doing a lot of research, here are the links: (copy paste, I don't want them linked to my page so I didn't activate the links, lol)

http://watching-tv.ew.com/2013/01/03/buckwild-review-mtv/

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1699645/jersey-shore-buckwild-advice.jhtml