Study released

Jerry Springer has become an icon of pop culture. His daytime TV talk show has been on the air since the mid-90s and has found quite a following, possibly more for its outrageous guests than its moral content. But according to one new IU study, when tuning in to see the latest incestuous love triangle, or to find out that David's secret life includes women's underwear and his lover Paul, viewers are also receiving a dose of morality.\nProfessor Maria Elizabeth Grabe, associate professor of journalism, found exactly that in her report "Maintaining the Moral Order: A Functional Analysis of the Jerry Springer Show," which appears in the current issue of The Journal Critical Issues in Mass Communication. Grabe first stumbled across the topic in one of her classes.\n"I was paying close attention to the public debate about the show because it was so controversial, and my students were watching the show so I thought I should watch the show. When I watched it, I thought 'I'm not watching the same show the politicians and clergyman are watching,'" Grabe said. "What I heard them saying was that the show has a negative impact on society, but what I saw was there are all these moral transgressions. But if you look at what is being applauded and what is \nbeing booed, it's really family values that are being applauded."\nGrabe decided to take her observations one step further, and set up a study with some of her graduate students. In the study, 100 episodes of "The Jerry Springer Show" were watched and coded for reaction from both Springer and the audience. Every jeer and every cheer was noted and then put into a code that showed whether the reactions were supportive of, or against the seven deadly sins. In the end, her findings were the opposite of those of most critics of the show, who find the show to be morally devoid and harmful to society's values.\n"I thought that I might find that it's not as destructive as people think it is, but I had no idea that it would be that closely mirroring really traditional American wholesome family values," Grabe said. "We're talking about don't cheat, be honest, no alternative sexual preferences, don't be lazy and it's bad to call people names."\nThe show already has a reputation for unrealistic stories and poor choices all around. It was recently named the worst show on television by TV Guide. Other critics of the show argue that the topics discussed on the show are morally wrong, and regardless of the audience's reaction, are not good for society as a whole. \n"It doesn't make a difference to the home audience, the audience is just yelling, besides half the time they just start yelling 'Jerry, Jerry,'" freshman Becky Brown said.\nBut Grabe's study notes that audience reaction can have an impact on moral values. The study follows sociologists views that to have moral values people need to see upstanding examples, as well as transgressions, and the way society learns is to see values violated and the violators criticized for their actions. \nGrabe contends that "The Jerry Springer Show" violates society's values, but the audience and Springer criticize those values, thus showing their transgressions in a negative light.\n"I don't necessarily think it's good for society, but it is good for people to have a chance to see a lot of the things that are wrong with our society," sophomore Dustin Perry said.\nGrabe has been contacted by a paper in Canada and The Wall Street Journal for a copy of her study. She said she's burnt out on "The Jerry Springer Show" after watching 100 episodes so thoroughly. While Grabe has no plans to continue her talk show studies in the future, she joked that maybe she should test the values of "Temptation Island"