Reality TV

Jerry Springer: Has he gone too far? Murders…What Next?!

1. Intro

Would you go on a reality TV show such as "Jerry Springer", if it increased your chances of being murdered, let alone the public embarrassment of appearing on national television, for all of the wrong reasons!…

I suggest you pay close attention to this presentation, as it will make you think twice, should you ever be tempted to take the cash, and air your dirty laundry in public, and even further piss off the person you had an issue with, to the point where they may want to murder you, rather than just be pissed off!

How would you feel if your partner contacted "The Jerry Springer Show" to tell the world about your interesting habits in bed, or perhaps what your former partner told your current lover about your inner-most desires and peculiar habits and real life fantasies!

There have been two murders, that's right, murders, that are related to guests on his show in a five-year period.

Now let me show you how this show starts…

2. Play the video for 3 mins, Stop the video. THEN SAY, "PRETTY AMAZING STUFF HEY"! *Stop the video tape at 4min, 5.30min and 7.30min.

*In the presentation I also play the tape of me being interviewed by Veronica, about "The Jerry Springer Show" on CTV1 Sydney's "Around The World with Joy". (Normally I interview guests).

3. Ok, now lets hear what Mr John Laws, 2UE radio icon, has to say when I call up and ask his opinion! Play the audio tape (3 important places - intro, body & conclusion)

4. "See, its bad enough being on National Radio, just talking about this dangerous, provocative show, as you just heard"! Imagine being on the show, you would be terrified about the consequences. You probably couldn't sleep well for weeks afterward either.

5. There have even been three books written specifically on the Jerry Springer Show. All of them fail to mention the real life murders, of course! Not that the books are not outrageous enough. Don't forget they have to sell to the masses of "mindless idiots" also. Let's look at some of the show's episodes covered in this very book: (read from front, and then back cover).

Now, let's see how the show is described in the book (read from "Shocking"! etc).

Shocking! Controversial! A Circus Show!

These expressions come most to mind when describing the wildly popular "Jerry Springer Show". Inside are the 23 craziest episodes ever aired on TV (and one that was too racy to make it that far)!

Experience the love one man feels for his mare in "I married a Horse". Learn about what happens when a women in labor confronts her husband's mistress? How far will Jerry go to rescue an obese man?

How does a male guest react when he finds out this girlfriend is really a guy?

The answers to these questions and so much more can be found out in this outrageous companion to the show. Find out how show topics are chosen, how guests' stories are checked out, and how the staff cruise strip joints for last-minute segments.

Open this book and relive the passion, the lies the intrigue, the hair-pulling, the chair-throwing, the disgust - all that makes the "Jerry Springer Show" the most popular talk show in America.

Disgust is right!

It's almost no wonder murders are being committed from time to time. "Totally outrageous and appalling"!

6. Read again

All it took for Ralf Panitz to murder his ex-wife, Nancy Campbell-Panitz, on the 24th July 2000, was years of a bad relationship, and a heated discussion on The Jerry Springer Show. Now, that was the "trigger" so to speak.

Springer says that his producers do not encourage guests to fight and that a lawyer explains the possible consequences of fighting to all guests on the show.

I know he doesn't explain that some previous guests have been murdered on the show, some 12 hours after appearing!

Springers lawyer, Geoffrey Fieger, made light of the situation…

"I'm going to have (Springer) wrestled to the ground by two naked women". "Print that".

All talk aside, the Panitz court file paints a picture of a manipulative man who lured his ex-wife onto the Springer Show - with kisses and talk of reconciliation - only to humiliate her on national television. Then he later killer her.

Although Springer was not listed in court, locals know they would be in for a spectacle of a trial.

"Everyone's anticipating Jerry Springer driving up in his Rolls Royce", Tom Bell, Court Media Representative for Sarasota Courts said.

The show did release a statement saying: " The Jerry Springer Show" and it producers continue to be sympathetic to those who have been affected by this terrible tragedy. Our prayers go out to the victim".

Those who study television ethics believe talk shows like "Springer" need to be more than sympathetic.

"They certainly have to have some responsibility", said Stuart Fischoff, Media Psychology Professor at California State University at Los Angles. "It's not as if someone who was a total choirboy broke loose from his psychic moorings and committed a heinous crime".

Robert Thompon, a media and popular culture professor at Syracuse University, said it's a situation unlikely to change until people stop tuning in.

"The very premise behind the shows is like taking a jar of nitroglycerine and pushing it to the edge of the table, and starting the camera to see if it get knocked off and blows", Thompson said. "The bottom line is whether the stuff deliver the numbers. If it does, then they'll keep doing it".

(To class) … raise your hand and say "Jerry Jerry" enthusiastically, if you watched the show this week!

7. Wrap up / What's it all about, Jerry? (Greg Tingle)

So, let me ask this question to you:

Has Jerry Springer gone too far? I think all of us in this room know the answer!

8. Put on "Jerry Springer" glasses

Till next time be good to yourself and to each other (in a "Jerry Springer" tone). Thank you.

*Class goes berserk and breaks into wild applause. Greg Tingle, "Teachers Pet" for the day : )

* Jerry Springer Official Website

Profiles

Reality TV

Politics

Television