Jerry Springer has taken the talk show genre to a new level, and placed himself at the helm of a growing public controversy. Banned by placard-carrying ministers who protest outside its Chicago studios, The Jerry Springer Show combines drama and sensationalism that borders on the hilarious. Since its debut in 1991, the show's outrageous style and often perverse topics have either strongly enticed or offended individuals. The show not only allows but encourages brawls between its guests, egged on by Springer's audience of adoring fans, who repeatedly chant, "Jerry, Jerry, Jerry!" Guests are permitted to vent antagonistic emotions that often result in physical fights, quelled at the last minute by clean-cut, beefy bouncers. In addition to his public defense of his show, Springer has also been in the news as the subject of an alleged sex scandal with a porn star and her stepmother (the...