Riight!
No doubt they'll have to supply all the astronauts with suicide capsules, seeing as it's a one way trip and they'll have limited medical facilities. I don't believe the project has a chance for a minute.
Now if they could do the stages up to 2018 cheaply, they might get NASA to pay for it, a la SpaceX.
A return exploration mission to the moon might be more credible and useful.

This is a great idea! Big Brother Mars crossed with Survivor Mars.
When a contestant gets kicked out of the house, they really get kicked out of the house plus as an extra bonus, the freaks selected never come back.
It will also increase the average IQ on both planets (just slightly but every bit counts). TV ratings gold!

Great funding idea, having Fox or NBC foot the bill for a mission to Mars.

Finally a reality TV show worth watching.

I think that the idea is plausible. What I'm wondering is that they say astronauts but do not specify the gender distribution. It seams to me that sending 4 men only to the Mars is not very sustainable.

This looks like an INSANE project! Ok, the rockets and the habitats will be no problem, but the **people** will be. Astronauts from a "reality show", selected by the **public?** You have got to be kidding! This is doomed to fail. The so-called "astronauts" will never be able to put up with the training. Even if they miraculously get through that, they would go insane and kill each other on the way to Mars.
I see that among Mars One's backers is the co-creator of a "reality TV" show. That says it all. Never mind what happens to these people - it's all about "ratings".

@mooseman I understand your concerns. Mine are quite the same. But you do not have to leave the desition to the viewers - you can always make a preselection so that all the participants are physically and mentaly capable.
I actually find that this idea is quite clever way to put the stupid money into good use.

Can we PLEASE send the entire cast of "Jersey Shore" first?

That's a lot of money to spend on a show that may be cancelled after two episodes.

10 years of training, plus another 10 years, is a lot to ask of the people not to have relations, specifically children, unless they have accounted for that lol.