Friday, March 25

Jerry! Jerry!! Jerry!!!

When I moved to Dallas from Los Angeles (1993) the movers asked if I was a history professor (due to all the books). No, I replied .. just fascinated by the Mistakes of the Past. In that light, this 5-pager by Thom Hartmann was a breeze to read: When Democracy Failed: The Warnings of History.

I've never been a fan of Jerry Springer's TV show, which panders to the Trailer Trash crowd. That said, he has a radio show that's showing promise: Springer on the Radio. Word is that he'll be picked up by the Air America radio network next month, appearing prior to Al Franken. This could be interesting.

4 comments:

William Bob said...

I'd be interested to know if the overpowering feeling of superiority that fills one's being while watching the Jerry Springer Show on TV will transfer to the radio.

In other words, how much of the Springer Effect is visual?

Gene said...

Interesting question, William. I'm trying to think of anyone else who has both a trash-TV show and a serious (?) political commentary radio show. I can't think of anyone, unless that story about Ann Coulter being the Voice Of The Teletubbies has merit.

It's well known that Jerry would like to have a political career; he's tried that before and failed, so is this his attempt to build a base?

William Bob said...

Actually, Jerry *was* a politician! He was a city councilman from '71 to '77, when he was elected Mayor of Cincinnati. He even ran for Governor in '82. After that failed bid he became a political commentator on a local NBC affiliate and later the news anchor. He won 7 Emmy awards for his political commentary!

Even the Jerry Springer show, which debuted in '91, started out as a serious show. But he was corrupted by the dark side (ratings and syndication) and the show became what we all know and love (to hate).

Gene said...

I've seen some news items which start "... trash TV host Jerry Springer" and refers to Air America as "... liberal all-talk network" which is an attempt by the Right Wing media to demonize it before it gets off the ground.

It's a pity people are no longer allowed (by that new Surpreme Court ruling) to make up their own minds, and are forced to believe whatever President Limbaugh says.