Topic summary
Trash TV
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Tabloid talk show.
Trash TV
The subgenre is sometimes described in pejorative slang as "trash TV", particularly when the show hosts appear to design their shows to create controversy or confrontation. One of the earliest of the post-Oprah shows was Geraldo, which was oriented toward controversial guests and theatricality. As an example, one of the early show topics was titled "Men in Lace Panties and the Women Who Love Them". One 1988 episode featuring white power skinheads ended in a brawl that left host Geraldo Rivera with a broken nose. This incident led to Newsweek's characterization of his show as "Trash TV". The term was subsequently applied to tabloid talk shows at their most extreme; some hosts, such as Richard Bey and Jerry Springer, have proudly accepted the label, while other hosts, such as Jenny Jones, resent it.