Simon Cowell makes $75 million a year by telling people they suck

"Rad and Bad Reality" was absolutely stoked (in a, "See, we knew this reality thing was a big deal" kind of way) to hear that the three men who make the most money in prime-time television are reality stars.

This is all according to Forbes.com, which states that "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell is the best paid man in prime-time. "American Idol" had an average weekly audience of 27 million viewers last season and US Magazine states that between the dates of June 1, 2008 and June 1, 2009, Cowell made $75 million. He seems to have made a pretty good career for himself by telling people they can't sing on national TV.

Second on the list is Donald Trump, star of the reality show "The Apprentice" who made an estimated $50 million this year. Ryan Seacrest, host of "American Idol" banked about $38 million this year. Seacrest also produces reality shows "Keeping up with the Kardasians" and "Denise Richards: It's complicated." He signed a three-year contract for $45 million, but that will count toward next year's earnings.

"Rad and Bad Reality" believes the fact that the top three male earners in prime-time are reality stars is incredibly important when it comes to a reality TV blog. A post like this reflects the traditional news value of audience and is also making news elsewhere (like the places where the links above lead to). Not only it is important to regular viewers and reality TV lovers, but it is also important to people who may not have seen these shows. The fact that Cowell, Trump and Seacrest make the most money means that there are large amounts of viewers for these shows, which can lead to even more viewers because people who do not watch the show may think it is worth a shot if millions of people do watch it.

It is definitely a huge accomplishment for any reality star, and it is pretty big news in the reality world. Congratulations to Cowell, Trump, and Secrest for proving just how popular reality TV is.

The new seasons of "American Idol" and "The Apprentice" premiere in January 2010.