Griffin Speaks

UNBELIEVABLE, OUTRAGEOUS,
AND SHOCKING

Just when I thought I had seen and heard everything possibly shocking, I stumbled upon a television show that knocked my socks off. It was unbelievable, shocking and outrageous. Debra and the kids had gone shopping and I was home alone surfing through the television channels all 200 of them when I stumbled upon “The Jerry Springer Show”. 

Jerry’s guest included the following: an engaged woman whose brother was sleeping with her fiancé. She was later joined by her brother and the fiancé. 

The gay brother confessed to his sister that he had been having sexual relations with her fiancé on several occasions. The sister explodes. In walks the very straight acting fiancé. He confesses to her and asks for forgiveness. The gay and effeminate acting brother pleads to his sister’s fiancé to keep the affair going. They engage in a huge fist fight. In the end the fiancé marries the gay brother on the show. I could not believe that this garbage was being shown on television. I also could not believe that I couldn’t flip the channel! It’s all about ratings! People watch this junk. 

I decided to do some research on Jerry Springer and this is what I learned. Jerry Springer was born in London, England in 1944. During this time period Jerry’s family was fleeing from the Holocaust. When Jerry turned five, he moved to New York City with his mother and father. 

Jerry earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political Science from Tulane University in 1965. He later earned a law degree from Northwestern University in 1968. He would later work for Senator Robert Kennedy as a presidential campaign aide. When Senator Kennedy died, Jerry started working at a law firm in Cincinnati, Ohio. Beginning in 1971 he would later serve five consecutive years as a councilman at large. In 1977, at the age of 33, Jerry was elected Mayor of Cincinnati. It was the largest margin of victory in that city’s history. He became one of the youngest mayors in the United States.  

In 1982, Jerry entered the field of broadcasting. He started as a political reporter and commentator on Cincinnati’s WLWT-TV. In just two years he became anchor and managing editor and was the number one news anchor until he gave the post up in 1993. He received seven Emmy Awards for his nightly commentaries. 

Jerry began his talk show on September 30, 1991. It has been one of the most watched television shows in history. Where does he find the guests that appear on his show? How does he find people to get up in front of the world and act like fools? How did he get the man to come on his show and confess that he had married his horse? I don’t know, but I have to admit that the one time I stumbled across his show it was highly disturbing but very entertaining.