Isn't Jerry Springer the one who would end each show with a "sincere" heart to heart monologue to the viewers, justifying the show in a moral context of "now we understand these poor folks better" or some similar drivel? And wasn't he a Mayor of Cincinnati at one time? A Democrat, of course. What an absolute waste of oxygen and living space, he is.
I believe so. The show is based in Chicago. The thing that was interesting in the show was the accents. A lot of Kentucky and rural Ohio.
The participants on stage were largely very, very poor folks who had some form of chaos in their lives. Typically this was the kind of chaos that arises from being poor and having a very, very short time horizon.
The folks in the audience -- basically a jeering crowd -- were blue collar. At the end of the show, they'd take a mic into the audience and allow them to insult the participants.
The whole spectacle was ugly stuff.
Who also paid for a hooker with a check!