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Freaks talk back by Joshua Gamson: scholarly text about tabloid talk shows.
Freaks talk back by Joshua Gamson: scholarly text about tabloid talk shows.

Tabloid talk shows are a genre of American television talk-shows that achieved peak viewership during the late 20th century, ran mostly during the day, and were distributed mostly through syndication. The genre is believed to have originated with Phil Donahue and the increased viewership and personal confessions of Oprah Winfrey are believed to have popularized[1] and revolutionized it. Phillip John "Phil" Donahue (born December 21, 1935 in Cleveland Ohio) is an American media personality and Writer, best known as Oprah Gail Winfrey (born January 29 1954 often referred to simply as Oprah, is an American [2][3]Tabloid talk shows have sometimes been described as the freak shows of the late 20th century since most of their guests were outside the mainstream. The distinguishing features of these shows is a host that wanders through the studio audience getting opinions from everyday people seated to watch the show, and shows focused on a topic of the day that is often seen as provocative and explored through public confessions and a focus on "group therapy".

Contents

History

The origins of the tabloid talk show format have been traced to 1970 with Phil Donahue, as host of The Phil Donahue Show. The year 1970 in television involved some significant eventsBelow is a list of Television -related events in 1970. Phillip John "Phil" Donahue (born December 21, 1935 in Cleveland Ohio) is an American media personality and Writer, best known as The Phil Donahue Show, also known as Donahue, was the first Tabloid talk show. Although Donahue's show originally started off as a show similar to the others of its day, he soon began to push the envelope with the discussion of topics deemed to be taboo such as atheism, anatomically correct naked dolls, and homosexuality. A taboo is a strong Social prohibition (or ban) against words objects actions or discussions that are considered undesirable or offensive by a group culture Donahue also distinguished himself from traditional talk shows by being the first to get off the stage, and take his microphone directly into the studio audience.

For over a decade, Donahue's was the only show of this kind, and so tabloid talk shows had not yet been described as a genre, lucrative industry, or counterculture movement. All of that changed in 1986 when a relatively unknown 32 year old woman named Oprah Winfrey became the first broadcaster able to challenge Donahue in the ratings. Oprah Gail Winfrey (born January 29 1954 often referred to simply as Oprah, is an American Winfrey's show quickly doubled Donahue's audience as her personal confessions and focus on therapy were seen by many as redefining the format.

Time magazine wrote, "Guests with sad stories to tell are apt to rouse a tear in Oprah's eye. . . . They, in turn, often find themselves revealing things they would not imagine telling anyone, much less a national TV audience. It is the talk show as a group therapy session. "

By confessing intimate details about her weight problems, tumultuous love life, and sexual abuse, and crying alongside her guests, Time Magazine credits Winfrey with creating a new form of media communication known as "rapport talk" as distinguished from the "report talk" of Phil Donahue:

"Winfrey saw television's power to blend public and private; while it links strangers and conveys information over public airwaves, TV is most often viewed in the privacy of our homes. Like a family member, it sits down to meals with us and talks to us in the lonely afternoons. Grasping this paradox, . . . She makes people care because she cares. That is Winfrey's genius, and will be her legacy, as the changes she has wrought in the talk show continue to permeate our culture and shape our lives. "[4]

Winfrey continued Donahue's pattern of exploring topics that were at the time considered taboo. For an entire hour in the 1980s, members of the studio audience stood up one by one, gave their name and announced that they were gay. Also in the 1980s Winfrey took her show to West Virginia to confront a town gripped by AIDS paranoia because a gay man living in the town had HIV. Winfrey interviewed the man who had become a social outcast, the town's mayor who drained the swimming pool because the man had gone swimming, and debated the town's hostile residents. "But I hear this is a God fearing town" Winfrey scolded the homophobic studio audience, "where's all that Christian love and understanding?" During a show on gay marriage in the 1990s, a woman in Winfrey's audience stood up to complain that gays were constantly flaunting their sex lives and she announced that she was tired of it. "You know what I'm tired of," replied Winfrey, "heterosexual males raping and sodomizing young girls. That's what I'm tired of. " Her rebuttal inspired a screaming standing ovation from that show's mostly gay studio audience.

Guests included Neo Nazis, polygamous men and their partners, and Black and Jewish activists. The term neo-Nazism refers to post- World War II Political movements Social movements and ideologies seeking to revive Nazism, Negro is a term referring to people of Black African ancestry PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ By the fourth season, a show was dedicated to guests who claimed they had seen Elvis Presley alive in a variety of different locations throughout the country, with one man revealing to the host that he talked to the singer in his local Burger King. Burger King ( often abbreviated to

Oprah's best friend, the former news anchor and talk show host Gayle King said during an A&E profile on Winfrey in 2003 that when they recently looked back at an episode list of the first six seasons, Oprah could not believe she used to host such provocative shows. Gayle King (born December 28, 1954) is editor-at-large for O The Oprah Magazine and is the best friend of Oprah Winfrey A&E is a cable and Satellite television network with headquarters in Manhattan and offices in Stamford, Atlanta, With titles such as "I'm a Cross-Dresser" and "Priestly Sins", King believed the topics "didn't seem so sleazy" when Oprah did them.

Coming after Oprah

scholarly text about the post-Oprah era.
scholarly text about the post-Oprah era.

Soon many imitators began to appear, and by the time word spread that Winfrey had negotiated the most lucrative deal in television (a deal that would eventually make her the richest African American of the 20th century and the world's only black billionaire for three straight years), the industry exploded with copycats, each competing to be more edgy and provocative than the one before. The twentieth century of the Common Era began on This article refers to actual or incipient billionaires (as measured by U In 1991, Jerry Springer debuted The Jerry Springer Show, Jenny Jones debuted The Jenny Jones Show, Maury Povich debuted The Maury Povich Show, and Montel Williams debuted The Montel Williams Show. Gerald Norman "Jerry" Springer (born February 13, 1944) is an English -born American Television personality, a former The Jerry Springer Show is a television Tabloid talk show hosted by Jerry Springer, a former politician broadcast in the United States and other Jenny Jones (born Janina Stranski on June 7, 1946 in Bethlehem, Palestine) is a Canadian-American Talk show The Jenny Jones Show was an American syndicated daytime Tabloid talk show that was hosted by comedian/actress/singer Jenny Jones. Maurice Richard "Maury" Povich (born January 17, 1939) is an American TV Talk show personality who currently hosts Maury (formerly known as The Maury Povich Show) is a syndicated American television show hosted by Maury Povich, created along the same lines Montel Brian Anthony Williams is an American celebrity and Television Talk show host The Montel Williams Show (also known as Montel) was a syndicated talk show hosted by Montel Williams. In 1993, Ricki Lake debuted her own show. Ricki Pamela Lake (born September 21, 1968) is an American Actress and Tabloid talk show host perhaps best known for her long-running Ricki Lake was a daytime Tabloid talk show hosted by US actress Ricki Lake. With the abundance of these new shows, each of them was forced to compete with each other for higher ratings and higher ad revenues. This led the shows to topics considered outrageous in an attempt to keep viewers tuned in.

Trash TV

One of the earliest of the post-Oprah shows was Geraldo, which was oriented toward controversial guests and theatricality - one of the early shows was titled "Men in Lace Panties and the Women Who Love Them". Geraldo was a Daytime television Talk show that aired in syndication from September 7, 1987 to September 11, Geraldo Rivera's nose was broken in a well-publicized brawl during a 1988 show, involving racist skinheads, anti-racist skinheads, and black and Jewish activists. White power skinheads are a racist, and often also anti-semitic, offshoot of the Skinhead Subculture that originated in Great Britain Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice ( SHARP) are Anti-racist Skinheads who oppose Neo-Nazis and other political racists particularly if those racists The term black people usually refers to a racial group of Humans with dark Skin color, but the term has also been used to categorise a number of diverse PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ [5] This incident led to Newsweek's characterization of his show as "Trash TV". Newsweek is an American weekly Newsmagazine published in New York City. Tabloid talk shows are a genre of American television talk-shows that achieved peak viewership during the late 20th century The term Trash TV was applied to tabloid talk shows at their most extreme. Some of the programs listed here have proudly accepted the "trash" label, such as The Jerry Springer Show, while others like Jenny Jones resent the statement.

One of the most extreme hosts was former singer and radio talk host Morton Downey, Jr. would take Donahue's casual dismissiveness and transform it to open hostility directed towards his guests in the form of blowing cigarette smoke in their faces, shouting his catch phrase "Zip it!" at them, and occasionally ejecting them from the set. Morton Downey Jr (born Sean Morton Downey; December 9, 1932 - March 12, 2001) was a American Television Talk A cigarette ( French "small Cigar " from cigar + -ette) is a product consumed through Smoking and manufactured Though it was aired at night, and ostensibly dealt with serious political and social issues, The Morton Downey, Jr. Show was a pioneer in the Trash TV subgenre; and its foul language, violent in-studio fights, and extremely dysfunctional guests lead to it becoming one of the most successful television talk shows of its time. Morton Downey Jr (born Sean Morton Downey; December 9, 1932 - March 12, 2001) was a American Television Talk Abnormality is a subjectively defined characteristic assigned to those with rare or dysfunctional conditions Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic A talk show ( American) or chat show ( Global) is a Television or Radio program where one person or group of people come together to

In 1987, Rivera hosted the first of a series of special reports in prime time dealing with an alleged epidemic of Satanic ritual abuse. Satanic ritual abuse ( SRA, sometimes known as ritual abuse, cult related abuse, ritualized abuse, sadistic ritual abuse, ritual He stated: "Estimates are that there are over one million Satanists in this country . For other uses of the word see Satanism (disambiguation. Satanism can refer to a number of belief systems depending on the user and context . . The majority of them are linked in a highly organized, very secretive network. From small towns to large cities, they have attracted police and FBI attention to their Satanic ritual sexual child abuse, child pornography and grisly Satanic murders. Child pornography refers to material depicting Children being in a state of undress engaged in erotic poses or sexual activity The odds are that this is happening in your town. " Subsequent to the programs, there were outbreaks of Satanic hysteria in various American cities.

He was noted for self-promotion and for inserting himself into stories: he twice had plastic surgery on his program, and his autobiography Exposing Myself caused headlines in 1991 by discussing his sexual dalliances, which included encounters with Bette Midler and Margaret Trudeau. Bette Midler (born December 1, 1945) is anAmerican Singer, Actress and Comedian, also known (as her informal stage name as Margaret Joan Sinclair Trudeau Kemper (born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) is the former wife of the late Pierre Trudeau, the He was the son-in-law of author Kurt Vonnegut, while married to Edith Vonnegut. Kurt Vonnegut Jr (November 11 1922 – April 11 2007 (ˈvɒnəgət was a prolific and genre-bending American Novelist known for works blending Satire, Black Edith Vonnegut (born 1949 in Schenectady New York) is an American artist

Ricki Lake hit the scene as the youngest talk show host in the genre, and her show targeted a young and urban demographic. Ricki Pamela Lake (born September 21, 1968) is an American Actress and Tabloid talk show host perhaps best known for her long-running A typical show might present several lower middle class women, each claiming to be "All that" (the show's catchphrase for someone with high fashion, personality, and sex appeal), with others debating the assertion. In developed nations across the earth the lower middle class, is a sub-division of the greater Middle class which constitutes by far the largest socio-economic class A catch phrase (or catchphrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance Other shows would present someone in an obviously bad relationship and have Lake recommend, "Dump that zero and get yoself a hero. " Once Lake became a mother, family oriented shows became more common.

Lake's talk show was a frequent target for satire. It was repeatedly parodied during the 1990s on Saturday Night Live, with male cast member Jay Mohr impersonating Lake in drag. Saturday Night Live ( SNL) is a weekly late-night 90-minute American Sketch comedy / Variety show based in New York City Jay Mohr (born Jon Ferguson Mohr on August 23, 1970) is an American actor and Stand-up comedian. The show was also parodied fleetingly on Family Guy where a guest on the show was quoted to have said, "Yo, Ricki, that's my girlfriend. Family Guy is an animated American television sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane that airs on Fox and regularly on other She ain't supposed to be havin' no penis!". In addition, Lakes's show was referenced in the chorus of the hit 1998 song "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" by The Offspring: "So if you don't rate, just overcompensate, at least you know you can always go on Ricki Lake. " Pretty Fly (for a White Guy " is a single released by The Offspring, from their 1998 album Americana. The Offspring (sometimes referred to simply as Offspring) are a popular and influential American "

The Jerry Springer Show would gain a reputation as the most confrontational and sexually explicit, with stories of lurid trysts - often between family members, and with stripping guests and audience members. The Jerry Springer Show is a television Tabloid talk show hosted by Jerry Springer, a former politician broadcast in the United States and other Although the show started as a politically-oriented talk show, the search for higher ratings in an extremely competitive market led Springer to topics often described as tawdry and provocative, increasing its viewership in the process. Topics included partners admitting their adultery to each other, women or men admitting to their partners that they were post-op-transexuals, paternity test shows, numerous features on the Ku Klux Klan and other hate based groups, and an exposee of shock rock featuring El Duce from The Mentors and an appearance from GWAR. Transsexualism is a condition in which a person identifies with a physical Sex different from the one with which they were born Ku Klux Klan ( KKK) is the name of several past and present secret domestic terrorist organizations in the United States, generally in the southern states that are List of racism-related topics|Racism by country Racism, by its simplest definition is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that Shock rock is a wide umbrella term for artists who combine Rock music with elements of theatrical Shock value in live performances El Duce redirects here The Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was known as "Il Duce The Mentors is a Shock rock band who formed in 1976 in Seattle, then moved to Los Angeles in 1979 GWAR is By this point, the hostility and simmering violence had been turned into a ritual. A ritual is a set of actions often thought to have Symbolic value the performance of which is usually prescribed by a Religion or by the Traditions Feuding family members would come out on stage, wigs invariably got knocked loose and clothing got torn, but stage security guard Steve would separate the combatants before the action got too violent. Billed weight 240 pounds Billed height 6ft 3in Steven John Wilkos (/ˈwɪlˌko(ʊs/ born March 9 1964 in Chicago Illinois) is an American Television personality

Though frequently criticized, Springer claimed that he had no creative control over the guests. If they were making up their story just to get their 15 minutes of fame, he and his producers knew nothing about it. He even dedicated a portion of one of his shows to showing outtakes, in which he caught a lesbian couple lying about their affair.

Characteristics

The wave of trash TV shows from the 1990s brought many new characteristics to the subgenre. The 1990s collectively refers to the years between and including 1990 and 1999 These characteristics include frequent obscenities, controversial guests, and in-studio fighting. Topics are always more provocative, disgusting, and offensive than those of typical talk shows. For example, most trash TV shows include a wide variety of topics, including extramarital affairs, paternity test results, rebellious teenagers who are then sent off to boot camp, bestiality, incest, strange fetishes, the Ku Klux Klan, racism, marital jealousy, sexism and adult movie stars. Zoophilia, from the Greek ζῷον ( zṓion, "animal" and φιλία ( philia, "friendship" or "love" is a Paraphilia Incest refers to any sexual activity between closely related persons (often within the immediate family that is illegal or socially Taboo. Ku Klux Klan ( KKK) is the name of several past and present secret domestic terrorist organizations in the United States, generally in the southern states that are List of racism-related topics|Racism by country Racism, by its simplest definition is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that Sexism is the belief or attitude that one Gender or Sex is inferior to or less valuable than the other and can also refer to a Hatred or distrust towards Pornography or porn is the explicit depiction of Sexual subject matter with the sole intention of sexually exciting the viewer Guests are often 'trash' themselves, embodying negative stereotypes of white trash, trailer trash, or of low-class African Americans. White trash is a Pejorative term targeted at lower social class White people with poor prospects and/or low levels of education Trailer trash (or trailer park trash) is a derogatory North American English term for people of low socio-economic standing

The Jerry Springer Show is noted for being one of the trashiest shows of the genre and epitomizing the trash TV show, and indeed proudly proclaims itself as the worst television show in history, quoting a TV Guide review of the show. The Jerry Springer Show is a television Tabloid talk show hosted by Jerry Springer, a former politician broadcast in the United States and other TV Guide is the name of a North American weekly magazine about television programming Morning radio personality Howard Stern, while rejecting the often applied label of "shock jock", also incorporates many of these aspects in the televised versions of his daily radio show. Howard Allan Stern (born January 12 1954 is an American radio host and Television personality. Shock Jock was an Australian television comedy series broadcast on TV1.

The label of "trash" has also been applied to various reality television series that featured sexual encounters between participants (i. Reality television is a genre of Television programming which presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations documents actual events and usually features ordinary e. Big Brother) and contest shows like Fear Factor that included contestants consuming or immersed in disgusting substances (insects, animal parts, etc. Big Brother is a Reality television show where in each series a group of people live together in the Big Brother House isolated from the outside world but continuously The fear factor in occupational terminology refers to the increased per-worker productivity resulting from the threat of impending layoffs. Insects ( Class Insecta) are a major group of Arthropods and the most diverse group of Animals on the Earth with over a million described ).

Trash television in Europe

While American talk shows like Jerry Springer (as well as homegrown European imitations) are widely syndicated and popular throughout Europe, the daytime television initially labeled as "Trash TV" often featured an erotic element not seen on American television, such as Germany's RTL Network, which became well-known in the 1990s for such fare as the game show Tutti Frutti with its topless female chorus and stripping contestants, and Peep!, an erotic anthology series. In Broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast Radio shows and Television shows to multiple individual stations without going through As the world's third largest economy and with the largest Population in the European Union, Germany today offers a vast diversity of television stations RTL (formerly RTL plus) is a German commercial Television station distributed via cable and satellite along with DVB-T The 1990s collectively refers to the years between and including 1990 and 1999 A striptease or Exotic dance is a form of erotic entertainment usually a Dance, in which the performer known as a "stripper" gradually undresses

Annita Pania is the longest living representative of Trash TV in Greece

End of an era

By the early 2000s, the genre began to decline in popularity with viewing audiences, and certain hosts either saw their shows cancelled due to low ratings (i. Annita Pania, born in 1970 is a controversial Greek television hostess Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Helsingin Sanomat is the biggest Subscription Newspaper in Finland. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. e. Jenny Jones and Sally Jessy Raphaël) or voluntarily ended their shows to pursue other interests, such as Ricki Lake. Many media analysts have attributed the decline in popularity of tabloid talk shows and daytime talk in general to competition from cable as well as the presumption that viewers were tiring of the constant recycling of subjects that are often shown on such programs. Another explanation would be that the same audience shifted directly over to the new "Reality" TV genre that rose to prominence at around the same time. Reality television is a genre of Television programming which presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations documents actual events and usually features ordinary As early as the late 1990s, hosts such as Oprah Winfrey, and to a lesser extent Montel Williams, began to distance their programs from the genre by refocusing them to more serious subject matters or staying onstage like more traditional talk shows. Another example of this trend was Geraldo Rivera ending his show in 1998 to focus on his CNBC News program full time. CNBC (an abbreviation for the " C onsumer N ews and B usiness C hannel" its official name until 1991 is a cable and

The Phil Donahue Show, seen by many as originating the genre, was cancelled in 1996 when it could not compete with the new crop of shows. The Phil Donahue Show, also known as Donahue, was the first Tabloid talk show. Donahue and Rivera would attempt to re-establish their journalistic credentials on cable television: Donahue with a short-lived talk show on MSNBC, and Rivera going back to his "roving reporter" roots, filing reports on CNBC, NBC, and Fox News Channel. MSNBC is a 24-hour cable television news channel based in the United States and available in Canada. CNBC (an abbreviation for the " C onsumer N ews and B usiness C hannel" its official name until 1991 is a cable and The National Broadcasting Company ( NBC) is an American Television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Maury Povich began hosting a weekend news show in 2006 with wife Connie Chung on MSNBC while still hosting his daytime show. Constance Yu-Hwa "Connie" Chung Povich ( born August 20, 1946) is an American journalist who has been an anchor and reporter Weekends with Maury and Connie was cancelled after six months, due to low ratings and being panned by many of the same critics who criticized his daytime talk show. Weekends with Maury and Connie was a light-hearted take on news of the week Jerry Springer, while continuing to host his televised "freak show", also hosts a more serious talk show on Air America radio. Generally considered in contemporary times as a highly inappropriate and dehumanizing term a freak show is an exhibition of rarities "freaks of nature" — such Air America Radio (commonly abbreviated to AAR)

Influence

In the scholarly text Freaks Talk Back[6], Yale sociology professor Joshua Gamson credits the tabloid talk show genre with providing much needed high impact media visibility for gays, bisexuals, transsexuals, and transgender people and doing more to make them mainstream and socially acceptable than any other development of the 20th century. In the English language, gay is an Adjective that in modern usage refers to Homosexuality. Bisexuality refers to sexual behavior with or attraction to people of both sexes or to a bisexual orientation Transsexualism is a condition in which a person identifies with a physical Sex different from the one with which they were born Transgender (trænzˈdʒɛndɚ from ( Latin) derivatives In the book's editorial review Michael Bronski wrote "In the recent past, lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgendered people had almost no presence on television. With the invention and propagation of tabloid talk shows such as Jerry Springer, Jenny Jones, Oprah, and Geraldo, people outside the sexual mainstream now appear in living rooms across America almost every day of the week. Gerald Norman "Jerry" Springer (born February 13, 1944) is an English -born American Television personality, a former Jenny Jones (born Janina Stranski on June 7, 1946 in Bethlehem, Palestine) is a Canadian-American Talk show Oprah Gail Winfrey (born January 29 1954 often referred to simply as Oprah, is an American "[7]

Gamson credits the tabloid talk show fad with making alternative sexual orientations and identities more acceptable in mainstream society. Examples include a recent Time magazine article describing early 21st century gays coming out of the closet younger and younger and gay suicide rates plummeting. Gamson also believes that tabloid talk shows caused gays to be embraced on more traditional forms of media. Examples include sitcoms like Will & Grace, primetime shows like Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and feature films like the Oscar-nominated Brokeback Mountain. Will & Grace is a popular Emmy Award -winning American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on NBC from 1998 to 2006 Queer Eye is an Emmy award-winning American Reality television series that premiered on the Bravo cable television network on July 15 Brokeback Mountain ( 2005) is a romantic - Drama film that depicts the complex romantic and sexual relationship between two men in the

While having changed with the times from her tabloid talk show roots, Winfrey continues to include gay guests by using her show to promote openly gay personalities like her hairdresser, makeup artist, and decorator Nate Berkus who inspired an outpouring of sympathy from middle America after grieving the loss of his partner in the 2004 tsunami on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Nate Berkus (born September 17, 1971) is an American Interior designer and decorator and a survivor of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami Winfrey's "therapeutic" hosting style and the tabloid talk show genre has been credited or blamed for leading the media counterculture of the 1980s and 1990s which some believe broke 20th century taboos, led to America's self-help obsession, and created confession culture. The Wall Street Journal coined the term "Oprahfication" which means public confession as a form of therapy and Time magazine named Winfrey one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century. Time (trademarked in capitals as TIME) is a weekly American Newsmagazine, similar to Newsweek and

Sociologist Vicki Abt criticised tabloid talk shows for redefining social norms. In her book Coming After Oprah: Cultural Fallout in the Age of the TV talk show, Abt warned that the media revolution that followed Oprah's success was blurring the lines between normal and deviant behavior. TV critic Jeff Jarvis agreed saying "Oprah was the one that trashed daytime TV. Jeff Jarvis (born September 12, 1954) is an American journalist. She took the Donahue format and then brought on the whiny misfits and losers and screamers and shouters, and then everyone, including Donahue, followed her, until it went overboard. Then finally she came back and recanted and said, no, no, now I'm the queen of quality on TV. "[8]

Talk shows were often spoofed in mainstream media, with Night Stand with Dick Dietrick one of the full length spoofs of the medium (complete with fake guests and audience members asking questions). Night Stand with Dick Dietrick was a spoof on daytime Talk shows ( Jerry Springer, Ricki Lake, Jenny Jones, etc

Controversy

On an episode of The Jenny Jones Show called "Same-Sex Secret Crushes" taped on March 6, 1995, a gay man named Scott Amedure confessed his love for his friend, Jonathan Schmitz. The Jenny Jones Show was an American syndicated daytime Tabloid talk show that was hosted by comedian/actress/singer Jenny Jones. Events 1079 - Omar Khayyám completes the Iranian calendar. 1454 - Thirteen Years' War: Delegates of Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 In the English language, gay is an Adjective that in modern usage refers to Homosexuality. Schmitz reacted with laughter while on the show, but became disturbed by the incident later. He had a history of mental illness and alcohol/drug abuse. Mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern that occurs in an individual and is thought to cause distress or disability that is not expected as Alcoholism is a term with multiple and sometimes conflicting definitions Drug abuse has a wide range of definitions related to taking a Psychoactive drug or Performance enhancing drug for a non-therapeutic or non-medical effect Three days after the show's taping, Schmitz killed Amedure. Schmitz was later convicted of second degree murder and received 25-50 years in prison. Murder is the unlawful killing of another human person with Malice aforethought, as defined in Common Law countries The episode was never aired.

Amedure's family then sued the producers of The Jenny Jones Show saying they should have known about Schmitz's mental illness history. In interviews, Jones said her producers told Schmitz that his admirer could be a male, but Schmitz maintained they misled him into thinking it would be a woman. While under oath, Jones admitted that the show didn't want Schmitz to know that his admirer was a man. Amedure's family won the initial ruling and the show was ordered to pay them $25 million. The verdict was later overturned by the Michigan appellate court. Michigan ( is a Midwestern state of the United States of America. Court of Appeal, Court of Appeals, and Appellate Division redirect here for a list of specific courts using those titles see Court of Appeal The case is now studied in law school tort classes because of the legal significance of saying the show's producers were not responsible for guests' safety after they had left the studio. A law school (also known as a school of law or college of law) is an institution specializing in Legal education. Tort law is the name given to a body of law that creates and provides remedies for civil wrongs that do not arise out of Contractual duties

Ratings for the Jenny Jones show declined in the years after the case and it was cancelled in 2003. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar.

Donahue was also the subject of occasional controversy. In an episode dealing with transvestism, Donahue briefly wore a dress over his suit as a joke. This article deals with the history of the word 'transvestite' Some critics complained that Donahue was sinking to level of his more tasteless competitors.

Oprah talks to Phil Donahue

For the September 2002 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine Oprah Winfrey interviewed Phil Donahue at his Manhattan Penthouse in what she described as a "full-circle" moment. O The Oprah Magazine, sometimes simply abbreviated to O, is a monthly magazine for women founded by Oprah Winfrey and Hearst "If there had been no Phil Donahue show, there would be no Oprah Winfrey show," she wrote in the article's introduction. "He was the first to acknowledge that women are interested in more than masscara tips and cake recipes—that we're intelligent, we're concerned about the world around us, and we want the best possible lives for ourselves. "

In the interview Donahue explained that "the show became a place where women discussed issues that didn't naturally come up, and certainly not in mixed company. Much of what we talked about on the air is what women had been talking about in ladies' rooms. " Donahue recalled that he finally had to do a show about Doctors who hate Donahue because for the first time women were challenging their physicians.

Donahue also discussed how hosting the show helped him overcome his own taboos. "I put a gay guy on in 1968—a real live homosexual sitting right next to me. I was terrified. . . I'm from Notre Dame. And believe me that's the one thing you didn't want to be doing at Notre Dame was hangin' with gay people. . . If you don't understand those feelings then you don't understand homophobia. There's a reason for the closet. As the years went by after that show, I got involved in gay politics, and through my activism, I began to realize what it must be like to be born, to live, and to die in the closet. "

Donahue also commented on the new crop of tabloid talk shows:

"I'm watching Jenny Jones—'One-Night Stand Reunions'. First guest comes out. . . She says 'It was the most passionate, intimate, exciting night I've had in my life' The audience goes 'Oooh!' By now I'm canceling appointments to watch this, and Jenny Jones says 'Would you like to meet him?' The audience says, 'Yeah!' I thought, Me too. . . when they introduce the guy, he's 6 foot 4, he's gorgeous—and he's black. The audience goes, 'Whoooa!' And I thought, 'Well, shit—we never thought of that!'"

When Winfrey reminded him "You started all this" he replied, "If that's what you think, I'm proud. What I'm most proud of is that we involved the audience more than anybody else in the game. People who owned the airwaves got to use them in this wild thing called democracy. "

While both Winfrey and Donahue admitted to having done shows that were "naughty", both wondered if newer shows like Jerry Springer had crossed over into a whole different territory.

Reflecting on the genre as a whole Donahue added, "If you want to know about America's culture in the last half of the 20th century, watch some of these programs. "

Tabloid talk shows in the United Kingdom

British trash TV shows are largely similar to their American counterparts, albeit more tame as most hosts get involved more with guests, rather than taking an apathetic attitude in a fashion similar to Jerry Springer and usually the audience is not as involved. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Jeremy Kyle, for example, is known for his confrontational attitude towards those on the programme, while others like Trisha Goddard are more pacifist. Jeremy Kyle (born July 7, 1965 in Canning Town, London) is a British Radio and Television broadcaster Trisha Goddard (born 23 December, 1957) is an English Television presenter well known for her morning talk show Trisha Goddard Springer himself did a series on ITV as The Jerry Springer Show. Independent Television (generally known as ITV) is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters set up under the Independent

Vanessa Feltz's programme The Vanessa Show was infamously cancelled by the BBC as a result of some of the partcipants being actors from an agency, although it was known previously for outlandish stories similar to the American shows. Vanessa Jane Feltz (born 21 February 1962) is an English Journalist and broadcaster.

List of tabloid talk shows and trash TV

References

  1. ^ Coming After Oprah
  2. ^ TIME 100: Oprah Winfrey
  3. ^ Word Spy - Oprahization
  4. ^ TIME 100: Oprah Winfrey
  5. ^ http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0763020.html
  6. ^ Joshua Gamson, Freaks Talk Back: Tabloid Talk Shows and Sexual Nonconformity, excerpt and interview
  7. ^ Amazon.com: Freaks Talk Back: Tabloid Talk Shows and Sexual Nonconformity: Books: Joshua Gamson
  8. ^ CNN.com - Transcripts
The Queen Latifah Show is an American talk show hosted by Queen Latifah. The year 1999 in television involved some significant eventsBelow is a list of Television -related events in 1999. The year 2001 in television involved some significant eventsBelow is a list of Television -related events in 2001. Forgive or Forget was a Talk show which aired in national syndication across the United States from June 1998 to May 2000 The year 1998 in television involved some significant eventsBelow is a list of Television -related events in 1998. The year 2000 in television involved some significant eventsBelow is a list of Television -related events in 2000. Mother Love is an American entertainer From 1998 to 2000 she was the original host of Forgive or Forget.
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