Too many having their 15 minutes?

Australian television critic and author Clive James launched a scathing attack Friday on the thirst for fame that is fueling the reality television phenomenon.

Speaking to a national conference of commercial radio stations, London-based James suggested that celebrity-obsessed tabloid newspapers and reality shows were making people famous for doing nothing.

“If you ask people what they would like to do with their lives, they say they’d like to be famous or on television,” James said. “They don’t say what for and they have nothing to offer.... If people want to be somebody, they should do something first.”

James, a writer who has hosted TV shows in Britain, cited the example of Rebecca Loos, who became a minor personality after claiming to have had sex with her former boss, soccer star David Beckham.

“Rebecca sold her story and is now a TV star,” he said. “We can’t go on like this. Our best hope is that the celebrity culture is discrediting itself. We should help it on its way downhill and do our best to get back to a state where fame, if we have to have it, is at least dependent on some kind of achievement.”