Jerry Springer Gets Hit
"Jerry Springer," daytime TV's hottest -- and lowest-brow -- talk show
is fighting charges that some of its fist-flying, breast-baring antics are
staged. The syndicated newsmagazine Extra and Rolling Stone magazine both
found former guests who said they were coached by show employees to get
into fights. While the show's producers denied it and said there are strict
policies for avoiding fights, Springer conceded the charges were probably
true. "Maybe a producer went over the edge," he said. "Maybe a producer got
someone to fake a fight, or make up a story." He said that would be
"totally wrong, against our policy, and we'll deal with it." While guests
are told not to fight, they are encouraged to be animated and get into
people's faces, he said. And some of the topics -- a woman who tells her
boyfriend she's sleeping with someone else -- are bound to produce visceral
reactions. "Understand," an unapologetic Springer told the Associated
Press, "we have no obligation to make the show truthful, because it's
entertainment, not news."