and
things that should be avoided could be identified. At the same
time, the prurient interests of audience members (live and at
There was almost immediate outrage about such programs on
the part of many different people in American society. As Alter
(1996) reported, William Bennett and Senator Joseph Lieberman
embarked on a campaign against trash TV, claiming these program
do nothing more than pollute young minds. While "denouncing TV
freak shows is politically easy, cheap...and long overdue (Alter,
1996, p. 46),"it has done little to stem the tide. Some
hosts, including Springer, have "toned down" their content
somewhat, but the fists still fly and the "bleeps" are as common
Moving rapidly into the public consciousness in the wake of
the trash talk shows are the new "reality shows" that
...