The spectators took their seats, the microphone was turned on, the stage lights turned up, yet… The spectators took their seats, the microphone was turned on, the stage lights turned up, yet something still seemed missing.

Then, the familiar chant of “Jer-ry! Jer-ry!” filled the void of anticipation as longtime talk show host Jerry Springer took the stage of the William Pitt Union Assembly Room last night.

Springer spent more than an hour reflecting on his illustrious career at the Pitt Program Council event, moderated by Justin Jacobs of The Pitt News. Springer explained how his infamous Jerry Springer Show was originally intended to be a wholesome family program.

“First of all, I’m sorry,” he said of his show’s more serious early years. While the Dr. Jekyll version of his show originally yielded worse ratings than the Mr. Hyde concoction it is today, Springer said his show started off as a catalyst for change.

“You never know where history is going to be made,” he said. Springer showed a clip from an early episode of a man wanting to ban smoking in public areas.

“We all called the guy crazy,” Springer said.

The spark for the show’s evolution came when Springer was seeking out a way to improve ratings.

“There were 20 talk shows on air at the time, and they were all like Oprah,” he said. Springer opted to model his show after Ricki Lake, who targeted a younger demographic. “We never made the decision to go wild,” Springer said. “We made the decision to go young.”

Despite the decision to change his target demographic, Springer said his show remained at the forefront of cultural change.

“Younger people are more open,” he said. Springer said that this culture of acceptance created acceptance as a byproduct of his jovial show. “The show was always for entertainment, but we are far more open today to things that shocked us then,” he said.

“The first time we had two gay guys kiss on the show, there was absolute outrage,” he said. “There were protests, and we got in a lot of trouble with the newspapers. Now, just being gay won’t get you on the show. There has to at least be an animal involved.”

Springer took lessons learned from past shows and used them to predict tolerance in the near future.

“It’s not even that shocking anymore when we do shows about transgendered, and in five years that won’t be an issue either,” he said.

After saying he would like to see either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton – who he officially supports – in office, Springer took time at the end of the evening to address what he said was the political issue that he was most concerned about.

“The middle class of America is under assault,” he said to his audience. “You, sadly, are the first generation of Americans where your parents cannot guarantee you that your life will be better than theirs.”

Springer blamed the ever-rising costs of tuition on what he sees as a weakening middle class.

“If the middle class cannot afford to go to college, they can’t compete for these jobs that are heading overseas,” he said.

Springer also said that universal health care is essential, even in a capitalist world.

“We want everyone competing,” he said, “but the one thing we shouldn’t have to compete for is the ability to go to a doctor.”

Springer concluded the evening by addressing his critics.

“They think I’m destroying Western Civilization,” he said. “If people don’t like it, they shouldn’t watch it. That’s why God gave us remote controls.”