Also, yes, I do know that Springer supposedly sometimes faked his shows. But I found this email illuminating nonetheless:

Dear Jonah,
First off, I want to tell you I always enjoy reading your articles. Second, I’ll just give you a little insight into the Jerry Springer Show. My wife worked as an intern for the show about 3 or 4 years ago. She quit after her ankle was sprained when it was stepped on by a 300+ lb stripper who she was helping get a pair of nude tights on. Anyway, as I’m sure you know, a good portion of these segements are fake. Many of the guests have never seen each other. Springer trolls the ranks of strippers, prostitutes and wannabe porn stars to act out the story lines that his producer dream up. My wife can watch a show and tell you if the story line is real or fake. However, not all the story lines are fake. My wife had to console women who were brought on the show and torn apart after hearing that their boyfriend was sleeping with their mom, cousin, sister, brother, dog, etc. Springer exploited many a poor woman (and man) who had no idea, you can argue by their own stupidity, what was really going to happen. This man is a disgrace. He attempts to claim he stands for the little guy, the “hick”. He’s exploited these people on his show to line his pockets with money and now he is trying to exploit them for political gain. Stay on this guy, as he deserves to be outed for the pig he is.