Tabloid talk shows are a genre of American television talk-shows that achieved peak viewership during the late 20th century. Airing mostly during the day and distributed mostly through syndication, this genre originated with
The Phil Donahue ShowThe Phil Donahue Show, also known as Donahue, was a tabloid talk show. The show had a 26-year run on national television, preceded by three years of local broadcast in Dayton, Ohio, before ending in 1996.-History:...
and was popularized by the personal confession-filled
Oprah Winfrey Show.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 host invites a group of guests to discuss an emotional or provocative topic—ranging from marital infidelity to more outlandish topics—and the guests are encouraged to make public confessions and resolve their problems with on-camera "group therapy". Similar shows are popular throughout Europe.
The genre is sometimes described using the
pejorativePejoratives are terms which have a negative connotation. Sometimes a term may begin as a pejorative word and eventually be adopted in a non-pejorative sense...
slangSlang is the use of highly informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's dialect or language. It is often used as a way to say words that are not appropriate, and is not often found in the standard dictionary for the language...
term "trash TV", particularly when the show hosts appear to purposely design their shows to create controversy or confrontation, as in the case of
GeraldoGeraldo was a daytime television talk show that aired in syndication from September 7, 1987 to June 12, 1998. On the last two seasons, it was known as The Geraldo Rivera Show. Both titles were produced by Investigative News Group in association with Tribune Entertainment.-As Geraldo:The title...
(a 1988 show in which
racist skinheadsWhite power skinheads are a white supremacist and anti-semitic offshoot of the skinhead subculture. Many of them are affiliated with white nationalist organizations.-History :...
and
JewThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
ish activists were invited led to an on-camera brawl) and
The Jerry Springer ShowThe Jerry Springer Show is a syndicated television tabloid talk show hosted by Jerry Springer, a former politician, broadcast in the United States and other countries...
, which focused on lurid
trystTryst may refer to:*A meeting of two lovers, as in courtship*Tryst , a book by Elswyth Thane*Tryst , a play by Karoline Leach*A nightclub at the Wynn Las Vegas hotel...
s - often between family members. While sociologist Vicki Abt criticized tabloid TV shows, claiming that they are blurring the lines between normal and deviant behavior,
YaleRapidMiner is an environment for machine learning and data mining experiments. It allows experiments to be made up of a large number of arbitrarily nestable operators, described in XML files which are created with RapidMiner's graphical user interface...
sociology professor Joshua Gamson argues that the genre's focus on alternative lifestyles provided a great deal of media visibility for
gayThe term gay was originally used, until well into the mid-20th century, primarily to refer to feelings of being "carefree", "happy", or "bright and showy"; it had also come to acquire some connotations of "immorality" as early as 1637....
s, bisexuals, transsexuals, and
transgenderTransgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to diverge from the normative gender roles....
people.
History
Tabloid talk shows began in 1970 with
Phil DonahuePhillip John "Phil" Donahue is an Emmy Award winning American media personality and writer, best known as the creator and star of The Phil Donahue Show, also known as Donahue, the first tabloid talk show. The show had a 26-year run on U.S...
, as host of
The Phil Donahue ShowThe Phil Donahue Show, also known as Donahue, was a tabloid talk show. The show had a 26-year run on national television, preceded by three years of local broadcast in Dayton, Ohio, before ending in 1996.-History:...
. Donahue began to push the envelope with the discussion of topics deemed to be
tabooA taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and forbidden. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society. The term comes from the Tongan language, and appears in many Polynesian cultures...
such as atheism and homosexuality. 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 WinfreyOprah Gail Winfrey is an American media personality, actress, television producer, literary critic and magazine publisher, best known for her self-titled, multi-award winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history...
became the first broadcaster able to challenge Donahue in the ratings. 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."
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
BlackNegro is a term referring to people of Black ancestry. Prior to the shift in the lexicon of American and worldwide classification of race and ethnicity in the late 1960s, the appellation was accepted as a normal, completely neutral, formal term both by those of Black African descent as well as...
and
JewThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
ish activists. By the fourth season, a show was dedicated to guests who claimed they had seen
Elvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was an American singer and actor. A cultural icon, he is commonly known simply as Elvis and is also sometimes referred to as The King of Rock 'n' Roll or The King....
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 KingBurger King , often abbreviated as BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The first restaurant was opened in Miami, Florida in 1954 by James McLamore and David Edgerton, and has since used several...
.
Oprah's best friend, the former news anchor and talk show host
Gayle KingGayle King is editor-at-large for O, The Oprah Magazine and is the best friend of Oprah Winfrey. She has previously worked as a television news anchor and talk show host. King was also instrumental in the planning and creation of the Legends Weekend.-Biography and Career:King was born in Chevy...
said during an
A&EA&E is a cable and satellite television network with headquarters in Manhattan and offices in Stamford, Atlanta, Detroit, Los Angeles, Chicago, and London. A&E stands for Arts & Entertainment, which, for many years, was in the channel's full title...
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. 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.
After Oprah
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 billionaireAccording to the 2009 Forbes International Billionaire List, Oprah Winfrey with a net worth of $2.7 billion is the richest black person in the world., and was once the world's only black billionaire Close behind is Nigeria's Aliko Dangote with $2.5 billion, Nigerian petroleum executive Femi Otedola...
for three straight years), the industry exploded with copycats, each competing to be more edgy and provocative than the one before. In 1991,
Jerry SpringerGerald Norman "Jerry" Springer is an English/American television personality, best known as host of the tabloid talk show The Jerry Springer Show since its debut in 1991. He is a former Democratic mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio, and a musician.-Early life:Springer was born in Highgate tube station in...
debuted
The Jerry Springer ShowThe Jerry Springer Show is a syndicated television tabloid talk show hosted by Jerry Springer, a former politician, broadcast in the United States and other countries...
,
Jenny JonesJenny Jones is an American talk show host and tv presenter. She hosted The Jenny Jones Show from 1991 to 2003.-Life and career:Born in Bethlehem to Polish immigrant parents, Jenny grew up in London, Ontario....
debuted
The Jenny Jones ShowThe Jenny Jones Show was an American syndicated daytime tabloid talk show that was hosted by comedian/actress/singer Jenny Jones. It was produced by Quincy Jones' QD Productions and Telepictures and was distributed by Warner Bros. Television...
,
Maury PovichMaurice Richard "Maury" Povich is an American TV talk show personality, who currently hosts his self-titled talk show Maury...
debuted
The Maury Povich ShowMaury is a syndicated American television show hosted by Maury Povich. The show was created along the same lines as The Jerry Springer Show with the exception of the subject matter Maury discusses...
, and
Montel WilliamsMontel Brian Anthony Williams is an American former television personality and television and radio talk show host.-Early life:Williams was born in Baltimore, Maryland...
debuted
The Montel Williams ShowThe Montel Williams Show was a syndicated talk show hosted by Montel Williams.On January 30, 2008 it was announced that The Montel Williams Show would stop production on new episodes at the end of the 2007-08 television season...
. In 1993,
Ricki LakeRicki Pamela Lake is an American actress and television personality, best known for her talk show and starring role as Tracy Turnblad in the original Hairspray.-Early life:...
debuted
her own showRicki Lake was a daytime tabloid talk show hosted by U.S. actress Ricki Lake. The show specialized in sensationalist topics involving invited guests and incorporated questions and comments from a studio audience....
. 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
The genre is sometimes described using the pejorative slang term "trash TV", particularly when the show hosts appear to purposely design their shows to create controversy or confrontation. One of the earliest of the post-Oprah shows was
GeraldoGeraldo was a daytime television talk show that aired in syndication from September 7, 1987 to June 12, 1998. On the last two seasons, it was known as The Geraldo Rivera Show. Both titles were produced by Investigative News Group in association with Tribune Entertainment.-As Geraldo:The title...
, 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 RiveraGerald Rivera is an American attorney, journalist, writer, reporter and former talk show host. He is known to have an affinity for melodramatic, high-profile stories...
's nose was broken in a well-publicized brawl during a 1988 show, involving
racist skinheadsWhite power skinheads are a white supremacist and anti-semitic offshoot of the skinhead subculture. Many of them are affiliated with white nationalist organizations.-History :...
,
anti-racist skinheadsSkinheads Against Racial Prejudice are anti-racist skinheads who oppose neo-Nazis and other political racists, particularly if those racists identify themselves as skinheads....
, and
blackThe term black people usually refers to a racial group of humans with skin colors that range from light brown to nearly black. It also has been used to categorize a number of diverse populations into a common group. Some definitions of the term include only people of relatively recent Sub Saharan...
and
JewThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
ish activists. This incident led to
NewsweekNewsweek is an American weekly newsmagazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
s characterization of his show as "Trash TV". The term Trash TV was applied to tabloid talk shows at their most extreme. Some of the program hosts 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.Morton Downey, Jr. was an American singer, songwriter and later a television talk show host of the 1980s who pioneered the "trash TV" format.-Career:...
would take Donahue's casual dismissiveness and transform it to open hostility directed towards his guests in the form of blowing
cigaretteA cigarette is a product consumed through smoking and manufactured out of cured and finely cut tobacco leaves and reconstituted tobacco, often combined with other additives, then rolled or stuffed into a paper-wrapped cylinder...
smoke in their faces, shouting his catch phrase "Zip it!"
at them, and occasionally ejecting them from the set. Though it was aired at night, and ostensibly dealt with serious political and social issues, The Morton Downey, Jr. ShowMorton Downey, Jr. was an American singer, songwriter and later a television talk show host of the 1980s who pioneered the "trash TV" format.-Career:...
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
televisionTelevision is a widely used telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images, either monochromatic or color, usually accompanied by sound. "Television" may also refer specifically to a television set, television programming or television transmission...
talk showA talk show or chat show is a television or radio program where one person or group of people come together to discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host...
s of its time.
In 1987, Rivera hosted the first of a series of special reports in prime time dealing with an alleged epidemic of
Satanic ritual abuseSatanic ritual abuse refers to a moral panic that originated in the United States in the 1980s, spreading throughout the country and eventually to many parts of the world, before subsiding in the late 1990s...
. He stated: "Estimates are that there are over one million Satanists in this country ... 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 pornographyChild pornography refers to images or films depicting sexually explicit activities involving a child; as such, child pornography is a visual record of child sexual abuse...
and grisly Satanic murders. 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 MidlerBette Midler is an American singer, actress and comedienne, also known as The Divine Miss M. During her career, she has been nominated for two Academy Awards; and won four Grammy Awards, four Golden Globes, three Emmy Awards, and a special Tony Award.-Biography:In 1945, Midler was born in...
and
Margaret TrudeauMargaret Joan Sinclair Trudeau Kemper is the former wife of the late Pierre Trudeau, the 15th Prime Minister of Canada.-Early years and marriage:...
. He was the son-in-law of author
Kurt VonnegutKurt Vonnegut, Jr. was an American novelist known for works blending satire, black comedy, and science fiction including Slaughterhouse-Five , Cat's Cradle , and Breakfast of Champions...
, while married to
Edith VonnegutEdith Vonnegut is an American painter.Her work — most of which combines heavenly beings with doing everyday things — has been showcased at galleries across the United States and published in the book Domestic Goddesses...
.
Ricki LakeRicki Pamela Lake is an American actress and television personality, best known for her talk show and starring role as Tracy Turnblad in the original Hairspray.-Early life:...
hit the scene as the youngest talk show host in the genre, and her show targeted a young and urban demographic. A typical show might present several
lower middle classIn developed nations across the earth, the lower middle class is a sub-division of the greater middle class which constitutes the largest socio-economic 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. 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 LiveSaturday Night Live is a weekly late-night sketch comedy and variety show filmed in New York City. It made its debut on October 11, 1975, under a slightly different title. The show features a regular cast of comedy actors, joined by a guest host and musical act...
, with male cast member Jay MohrJay Mohr is an American actor, impressionist and stand-up comedian.-Personal life:Mohr was born Jon Ferguson Mohr in Verona, New Jersey to Jean, a nurse, and Jon Mohr, a marketing executive. He has two sisters, Julia and Virginia. He also has one son, Jackson, from his six-year marriage with...
impersonating Lake in drag. The show was also parodied fleetingly on Family GuyFamily Guy is an American animated television sitcom, created by Seth MacFarlane, for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family which consists of Peter, Lois, Meg, Chris, Stewie, and their pet dog Brian...
where a guest on the show was quoted to have said, "Yo, Ricki, that's my girlfriend. 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)"Pretty Fly " is a punk rock song by The Offspring. It is the fourth track from their fifth studio album Americana and was released as the first single from the album. It achieved significant pop and alternative radio play and popularity, peaking at number 53 on the US charts, and reaching #1 in...
" by The OffspringThe Offspring is an American rock band formed in Huntington Beach, California in 1984. Since its formation, the band's line-up had included Dexter Holland , Noodles , Greg K. , and Ron Welty , who left in 2003...
: "So if you don't rate, just overcompensate, at least you know you can always go on Ricki Lake."
The Jerry Springer ShowThe Jerry Springer Show is a syndicated television tabloid talk show hosted by Jerry Springer, a former politician, broadcast in the United States and other countries...
would gain a reputation as the most confrontational and sexually explicit, with stories of lurid
trystTryst may refer to:*A meeting of two lovers, as in courtship*Tryst , a book by Elswyth Thane*Tryst , a play by Karoline Leach*A nightclub at the Wynn Las Vegas hotel...
s - often between family members, and with stripping guests and audience members. 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 KlanKu Klux Klan , informally known as The Klan, is the name of several past and present hate group organizations in the United States whose avowed purpose was to protect the rights of and further the interests of white Americans by violence and intimidation. The first such organizations originated in...
and other
hate based groupsRacism is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race. In the case of institutional racism, certain racial groups may be denied rights or benefits, or get preferential treatment...
, and an exposee of
shock rockShock rock is a wide umbrella term for artists who combine rock music with elements of theatrical shock value in live performances.-History and roots:Screamin' Jay Hawkins was arguably the first shock rocker...
featuring El Duce from
The MentorsThe Mentors are a shock rock band, whose music stylistically has developed over the years from garage metal to hardcore punk rock to experimental thrash jam, that formed in 1976 at Seattle, then moved to Los Angeles in 1979....
and an appearance from
GWARGwar is a Grammy Award-nominated thrash metal band formed in Richmond, Virginia in 1985. The band is best known for their elaborate sci-fi/horror film inspired costumes; raunchy, obscene lyrics; and graphic stage performances, which consist of humorous re-enactments of political and moral taboo...
. By this point, the hostility and simmering violence had been turned into a
ritualA ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value, which is prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers, or dictated purely by logic, chance, necessity, etc..A ritual may be...
. Feuding family members would come out on stage, wigs invariably got knocked loose and clothing got torn, but stage security guard
SteveSteven John "Steve" Wilkos is an American television personality and former U.S. Marine and Chicago police officer. He currently hosts his own talk show, The Steve Wilkos Show...
would separate the combatants before the action got too violent.
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 fame15 minutes of fame is an expression which refers to the fleeting condition of celebrity that grabs into an object of media attention, then passes to some new object as soon as people's attention spans are exhausted...
, 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. 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,
incestIncest is any sexual activity between close relatives irrespective of the ages of the participants and irrespective of their consent, that is illegal or socially taboo. The type of sexual activity and the nature of the relationship between persons that constitutes a breach of law or social taboo...
, strange fetishes, the
Ku Klux KlanKu Klux Klan , informally known as The Klan, is the name of several past and present hate group organizations in the United States whose avowed purpose was to protect the rights of and further the interests of white Americans by violence and intimidation. The first such organizations originated in...
,
racismRacism is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race. In the case of institutional racism, certain racial groups may be denied rights or benefits, or get preferential treatment...
, marital jealousy,
sexismSexism, a term coined in the mid-20th century, is the belief or attitude that one gender or sex is inferior to, less competent, or less valuable than the other. It can also refer to hatred of, or prejudice towards, either sex as a whole , or the application of stereotypes of masculinity in relation...
and
adult moviePornography or porn is the depiction of explicit sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual excitement.Over the past few decades, an immense industry for the production and consumption of pornography has grown, with the increasing use of the VCR, the DVD, and the Internet, as well as the...
stars. Guests are often 'trash' themselves, embodying negative stereotypes of
white trashWhite trash is an American English pejorative term referring to individual or groups of lower social class Caucasian people that the speaker considers to lack social status. It is most frequently used as a slur to describe financially, economically or culturally disadvantaged Caucasians...
,
trailer trashTrailer trash is a derogatory North American English term for poor white people. The term originates from the belief that such people typically reside in trailers or mobile homes, especially in trailer parks.-Television:...
, or of low-class African Americans.
The Jerry Springer ShowThe Jerry Springer Show is a syndicated television tabloid talk show hosted by Jerry Springer, a former politician, broadcast in the United States and other countries...
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 GuideTV Guide is a North American weekly magazine about television programming.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews. Some issues have also featured horoscope listings and crossword puzzles.-Annenberg/Triangle era: The...
review of the show. Morning radio personality Howard SternHoward Allan Stern is an American radio and media personality most notable for his radio show which since January 9, 2006, has been broadcasting on Sirius XM, an uncensored satellite radio service...
, while rejecting the often applied label of "shock jockShock jock is a slang term used to describe a type of radio broadcaster who attracts attention using humor that a significant portion of the listening audience may find offensive...
", also incorporates many of these aspects in the televised versions of his daily radio show.
The label of "trash" has also been applied to various reality televisionReality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors...
series that featured sexual encounters between participants (i.e. Big Brother
) and contest shows like Fear FactorFear Factor is an American stunt/dare reality game show.The original Dutch version was called Now or Neverland. When Endemol USA and NBC adapted it to the American market in 2001, they changed the name to Fear Factor....
that included contestants consuming or immersed in disgusting substances (insectInsects are arthropods, having a hard exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet and include more than a million species that are already described. Insects represent more than half of all...
s, animal parts, etc.).
In Europe
American talk shows like Jerry Springer
and homegrown European imitations are widely syndicatedIn broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows to multiple individual stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in countries where television is scheduled by networks with local affiliates, particularly in the United States...
and popular throughout Europe.
Annita PaniaAnnita Pania , born in 1970, is a Greek television hostess.Before presenting her first dating show Το Χρυσό Κουφέτο , she was a teacher of French language and a songwriter....
is the longest living representative of Trash TV in GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
, which reached its peak during the mid-90s.
Trash TV Arrives in Finland
- by Anne-Riitta Isohella (Helsingin SanomatHelsingin Sanomat is the biggest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. In 2008, its daily circulation was 412,421 on weekdays and 468,505 on Sundays...
- April 9, 2002)
Trash TV
by Graham Keeley, a report on telebasura in
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
Trash TV in GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
Trash TV blog in GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
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.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. 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
CNBCCNBC is a satellite and cable television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBC Universal. The network and its international spinoffs cover business headlines and provide live coverage of financial markets. The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers...
News program full time.
The Phil Donahue ShowThe Phil Donahue Show, also known as Donahue, was a tabloid talk show. The show had a 26-year run on national television, preceded by three years of local broadcast in Dayton, Ohio, before ending in 1996.-History:...
, seen by many as originating the genre, was cancelled in 1996 when it could not compete with the new crop of shows. Donahue and Rivera would attempt to re-establish their journalistic credentials on
cable televisionCable television is a system of providing television to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through fixed optical fibers or coaxial cables as opposed to the over-the-air method used in traditional television broadcasting in which a television antenna is required...
: Donahue with a short-lived talk show on
MSNBCMSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States and available in both the US and Canada. Its name is a combination of "MSN" and "NBC"....
, and Rivera going back to his "roving reporter" roots, filing reports on
CNBCCNBC is a satellite and cable television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBC Universal. The network and its international spinoffs cover business headlines and provide live coverage of financial markets. The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers...
,
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices in Burbank,California...
, and
Fox News ChannelThe Fox News Channel , commonly referred to as Fox or Fox News, is a major American cable news and satellite channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation. As of April 2009, it is available to 102 million households in the U.S...
. Maury Povich began hosting a weekend news show in 2006 with wife
Connie ChungConstance Yu-Hwa "Connie" Chung Povich is an American journalist who has been an anchor and reporter for several U.S. television news networks.-Background:...
on MSNBC while still hosting his daytime show.
Weekends with Maury and ConnieWeekends with Maury and Connie was an MSNBC television news series featuring light-hearted take on news of the week.It was hosted by talk show host Maury Povich and his wife, television news anchor Connie Chung. Beginning in early 2006, it appeared every weekend morning on MSNBC until Dan Abrams...
was cancelled after six months, due to low ratings and being panned by many of the same critics who criticized his daytime talk show. Jerry Springer, while continuing to host his televised "
freak showA freak show is an exhibition of rarities, "freaks of nature" — such as unusually tall or short humans, and people with both male and female secondary sexual characteristics or other extraordinary diseases and conditions — and performances that are expected to be shocking to the viewers...
", also hosted a more serious talk show on
Air AmericaAir America Media is an American radio network specializing in politically liberal talk programming. The network started programming on March 31, 2004 and features discussion and information programs with hosts reflecting progressive points of view...
radio in the mid-2000s.
Influence
In the scholarly text Freaks Talk Back,
YaleRapidMiner is an environment for machine learning and data mining experiments. It allows experiments to be made up of a large number of arbitrarily nestable operators, described in XML files which are created with RapidMiner's graphical user interface...
sociology professor Joshua Gamson credits the tabloid talk show genre with providing much needed high impact media visibility for
gayThe term gay was originally used, until well into the mid-20th century, primarily to refer to feelings of being "carefree", "happy", or "bright and showy"; it had also come to acquire some connotations of "immorality" as early as 1637....
s, bisexuals, transsexuals, and
transgenderTransgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to diverge from the normative gender roles....
people and doing more to make them mainstream and socially acceptable than any other development of the 20th century. 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 SpringerGerald Norman "Jerry" Springer is an English/American television personality, best known as host of the tabloid talk show The Jerry Springer Show since its debut in 1991. He is a former Democratic mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio, and a musician.-Early life:Springer was born in Highgate tube station in...
,
Jenny JonesJenny Jones is an American talk show host and tv presenter. She hosted The Jenny Jones Show from 1991 to 2003.-Life and career:Born in Bethlehem to Polish immigrant parents, Jenny grew up in London, Ontario....
, Oprah, and Geraldo, people outside the sexual mainstream now appear in living rooms across America almost every day of the week."
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 & GraceWill & Grace is an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on NBC from 1998 to 2006. The show takes place in New York City and focuses on Will Truman, a gay lawyer, and his best friend Grace Adler, a straight Jewish woman who runs her own interior design firm...
, primetime shows like Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and feature films like the Oscar-nominated
Brokeback MountainBrokeback Mountain is a 2005 American romantic-drama film that depicts the complex romantic and sexual relationship between two men in the American West from 1963 to 1981....
.
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 BerkusNathan Jay Berkus is an American interior designer and decorator. He runs Chicago interior design firm Nate Berkus Associates and has been a regular guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show, offering design advice to viewers....
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. 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.
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 JarvisJeff Jarvis is an American journalist. He is the former television critic for TV Guide and People magazine, creator of Entertainment Weekly, Sunday editor and associate publisher of the New York Daily News, and a columnist on the San Francisco Examiner.Until recently he was president and creative...
agreed saying "Oprah was the one that trashed daytime TV. 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." Talk shows were often spoofed in mainstream media, with
Night Stand with Dick DietrickNight Stand with Dick Dietrick was a spoof on daytime talk shows .It premiered on September 16, 1995 in syndication. The show ran in over 87% of the U.S. markets in syndication. In addition to syndication, Night Stand was broadcast on The Entertainment Channel Monday-Thursday at 10:30 p.m....
one of the full length spoofs of the medium (complete with fake guests and audience members asking questions).
Controversy
On an episode of The Jenny Jones ShowThe Jenny Jones Show was an American syndicated daytime tabloid talk show that was hosted by comedian/actress/singer Jenny Jones. It was produced by Quincy Jones' QD Productions and Telepictures and was distributed by Warner Bros. Television...
called "Same-Sex Secret Crushes" taped on March 6, 1995, a
gayThe term gay was originally used, until well into the mid-20th century, primarily to refer to feelings of being "carefree", "happy", or "bright and showy"; it had also come to acquire some connotations of "immorality" as early as 1637....
man named
Scott AmedureScott Bernard Amedure was an American man murdered after revealing on The Jenny Jones Show that he was attracted to an acquaintance. The acquaintance, Jonathan Schmitz, later shot Amedure and was found guilty of second degree murder...
confessed his love for his friend, Jonathan Schmitz. Schmitz reacted with laughter while on the show, but became disturbed by the incident later. He had a history of
mental illnessA 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 part of normal development or culture. The recognition and understanding of mental disorders has changed over time and...
and
alcoholAlcoholism is a term with multiple and sometimes conflicting definitions. In common and historic usage, alcoholism is any condition that results in the continued consumption of alcoholic beverages, despite health problems and negative social consequences...
/
drug abuseDrug abuse has a huge range of definitions related to taking a psychoactive drug or performance enhancing drug for a non-therapeutic or non-medical effect. All of these definitions imply a negative judgement of the drug use in question...
. 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. 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
MichiganMichigan is a Midwestern state of the United States of America. It was named after Lake Michigan, whose name is a French adaptation of the Ojibwe term mishigama, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
appellate courtAn appellate court is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In most jurisdictions, the court system is divided into at least three levels: the trial court, which initially hears cases and reviews evidence and testimony to determine the facts...
. The case is now studied in
law schoolA law school is an institution specializing in legal education.- United States:...
tortTort law is a body of law that addresses, and provides remedies for, civil wrongs not arising out of contractual obligations. A person who suffers legal damages may be able to use tort law to receive compensation from someone who is legally responsible, or liable, for those injuries...
classes because of the legal significance of saying the show's producers were not responsible for guests' safety after they had left the studio. Ratings for the Jenny Jones show declined in the years after the case and it was cancelled in 2003. Donahue was also the subject of occasional controversy. In an episode dealing with
transvestismTransvestism is the practice of cross-dressing, which is wearing the clothing of the opposite sex. Transvestite refers to a person who cross-dresses; however, the word often has additional connotations.-History:...
, Donahue briefly wore a dress over his suit as a joke. 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 MagazineO, The Oprah Magazine, sometimes simply abbreviated to O, is a monthly magazine founded by Oprah Winfrey and Hearst Corporation. It was first published on April 19 2000. , its average paid circulation was over 2.7 million copies, two thirds by subscription...
Oprah Winfrey interviewed Phil Donahue at his Manhattan Penthouse in what she described as a "full-circle" moment. "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, such as Jenny Jones—'One-Night Stand Reunions'. 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."
In the United Kingdom
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
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.
Jeremy KyleJeremy Kyle is a British radio and television broadcaster, best known for his British daytime television chat show on ITV, The Jeremy Kyle Show.-Radio career:...
, for example, is known for his confrontational attitude towards those on the programme, while others like
Trisha GoddardPatricia "Trisha" Goddard is an English television presenter well known for her morning talk show Trisha Goddard, which was broadcast on a mid morning slot on Channel Five in the UK. In Australia she is known as a long time presenter of Play School.-Background:Goddard was born in London, England...
are more pacifist. Springer himself did a series on
ITVITV is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters, set up under the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC. ITV is the oldest commercial television network in the UK...
as The Jerry Springer Show
. Vanessa Feltz-Family and early life:Vanessa Feltz was born in Islington, London, and grew up in Totteridge. On her radio show she frequently refers to Totteridge as "the Beverly Hills of North London", and her middle-class Jewish background as like "growing up in Fiddler on the Roof"...
's programme The Vanessa Show
was infamously cancelled by the BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
as a result of some of the participants being actors from an agency, although it was known previously for outlandish stories similar to the American shows.
List of shows
GeraldoGeraldo was a daytime television talk show that aired in syndication from September 7, 1987 to June 12, 1998. On the last two seasons, it was known as The Geraldo Rivera Show. Both titles were produced by Investigative News Group in association with Tribune Entertainment.-As Geraldo:The title...
(1987 - 1998), hosted by Geraldo RiveraGerald Rivera is an American attorney, journalist, writer, reporter and former talk show host. He is known to have an affinity for melodramatic, high-profile stories...
, a.k.a. The Geraldo Rivera Show
Hot SeatHot Seat was a syndicated, politically-oriented, though often satirical and comedic television talk-show that began in the early 1980s, hosted by conservative commentator Wally George...
(1983 - late 1990s), hosted by Wally GeorgeGeorge Walter Pearch, known as Wally George was an American conservative radio and television commentator...
The Jenny Jones ShowThe Jenny Jones Show was an American syndicated daytime tabloid talk show that was hosted by comedian/actress/singer Jenny Jones. It was produced by Quincy Jones' QD Productions and Telepictures and was distributed by Warner Bros. Television...
(1991 - 2003), hosted by Jenny JonesJenny Jones is an American talk show host and tv presenter. She hosted The Jenny Jones Show from 1991 to 2003.-Life and career:Born in Bethlehem to Polish immigrant parents, Jenny grew up in London, Ontario....
The Jerry Springer ShowThe Jerry Springer Show is a syndicated television tabloid talk show hosted by Jerry Springer, a former politician, broadcast in the United States and other countries...
(1991 - 2010*), hosted by Jerry SpringerGerald Norman "Jerry" Springer is an English/American television personality, best known as host of the tabloid talk show The Jerry Springer Show since its debut in 1991. He is a former Democratic mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio, and a musician.-Early life:Springer was born in Highgate tube station in...
Maury (TV series)Maury is a syndicated American television show hosted by Maury Povich. The show was created along the same lines as The Jerry Springer Show with the exception of the subject matter Maury discusses...
(1991 - 2010*), hosted by Maury PovichMaurice Richard "Maury" Povich is an American TV talk show personality, who currently hosts his self-titled talk show Maury...
, a.k.a. The Maury Povich Show
The Montel Williams ShowThe Montel Williams Show was a syndicated talk show hosted by Montel Williams.On January 30, 2008 it was announced that The Montel Williams Show would stop production on new episodes at the end of the 2007-08 television season...
(1991 - 2008), hosted by Montel WilliamsMontel Brian Anthony Williams is an American former television personality and television and radio talk show host.-Early life:Williams was born in Baltimore, Maryland...
a.k.a. Montel
(note
: this show dropped the tabloid format by 2006)
The Morton Downey, Jr. Show
(1987-1989), hosted by Morton Downey, Jr.Morton Downey, Jr. was an American singer, songwriter and later a television talk show host of the 1980s who pioneered the "trash TV" format.-Career:...
The Oprah Winfrey ShowThe Oprah Winfrey Show is a United States syndicated talk show, hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey, and is the highest-rated talk show in American television history...
(1986 - 2011), hosted by Oprah WinfreyOprah Gail Winfrey is an American media personality, actress, television producer, literary critic and magazine publisher, best known for her self-titled, multi-award winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history...
, a.k.a. Oprah
(note
: this show dropped the tabloid format by the early-1990's).
The Phil Donahue ShowThe Phil Donahue Show, also known as Donahue, was a tabloid talk show. The show had a 26-year run on national television, preceded by three years of local broadcast in Dayton, Ohio, before ending in 1996.-History:...
(1970 - 1996), hosted by Phil DonahuePhillip John "Phil" Donahue is an Emmy Award winning American media personality and writer, best known as the creator and star of The Phil Donahue Show, also known as Donahue, the first tabloid talk show. The show had a 26-year run on U.S...
, a.k.a. Donahue
Ricki LakeRicki Lake was a daytime tabloid talk show hosted by U.S. actress Ricki Lake. The show specialized in sensationalist topics involving invited guests and incorporated questions and comments from a studio audience....
(1993 - 2004), hosted by Ricki LakeRicki Pamela Lake is an American actress and television personality, best known for her talk show and starring role as Tracy Turnblad in the original Hairspray.-Early life:...
Sally
(1985 - 2002), hosted by Sally Jessy RaphaelSally Jessy Raphael is an American talk show host, known for the eponymous Sally talk show she hosted for two decades.-Early years:...
, a.k.a. Sally
The Richard Bey Show
(1990 -1996), hosted by Richard BeyRichard Wayne Bey is an American talk show host. He was popular in the 1990s as host of The Richard Bey Show, a daytime talk show containing ordinary people's personal stories incorporated into entertaining competitive games....
Tempestt
(1995) , hosted by Tempestt BledsoeTempestt Bledsoe is an American actress best known for her role as Bill Cosby's daughter and fourth child, Vanessa Huxtable, on the popular 1984-1992 sitcom The Cosby Show.-Career:...
.
Carnie!
(1995) , hosted by Carnie WilsonCarnie Wilson is an American singer and television host, best known as a member of the pop music group Wilson Phillips.-Musical career:...
.
Gabrielle
(1995), hosted by Gabrielle CarterisGabrielle Anne Carteris is an American actress known for her role as Andrea Zuckerman on the early seasons of the 1990s television series Beverly Hills, 90210.-Personal life:...
.
Rolonda
(1995 - 1999), hosted by Rolonda WattsRolonda Watts is an African-American actress and former television talk show host. She was the host of the eponymous Rolonda, a syndicated talk show which aired from 1994 to 1997. She is currently the announcer of the courtroom show Judge Joe Brown.-Early life:Watts was born in a family of educators...
The Steve Wilkos Show
(2007The year 2007 in television involves some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 2007.-January–March:-April–June:-July–September:-October–December:-Debuts:-Television shows:-1950s:...
- present), hosted by Steve WilkosSteven John "Steve" Wilkos is an American television personality and former U.S. Marine and Chicago police officer. He currently hosts his own talk show, The Steve Wilkos Show...
.
The Queen Latifah ShowThe Queen Latifah Show is an American talk show hosted by Queen Latifah. Aired in syndication, the series ran from September 1999 until August 2001.-Overview:...
(1999 - 2001), hosted by Queen LatifahDana Elaine Owens , better known by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, singer, model, and CoverGirl...
Forgive or ForgetForgive or Forget was an American talk show aired in national syndication from June 1998 to May 2000. The original host of the show was Mother Love, but she was replaced with former Head of the Class actress Robin Givens for the series' second and last season.The premise of the show involved...
(1998 - 2000), hosted for most of its run by
Mother LoveJo Ann Hart, better known as Mother Love is an American entertainer. From 1998 to 2000, she was the original host of Forgive or Forget. In addition, she has hosted on radio in Los Angeles radio stations KLSX, KACE FM, and a show on KFI. She came from Cleveland OH radio. She also appeared in such...
* Indicates end of current contract. Winfrey has announced she will retire at the end of her contract in 2011, as will Springer at the end of his in September 2010. Povich has made no such indication and may have his show renewed.