I should've been surprised when I saw Steak Shapiro on the set of CNN on Tuesday, but
I wasn't. After all, this is the network that gave Eliot Spitzer his own show. Spitzer is the
disgraced former governor of New York who had his secret life of sleeping with a high-
priced call girl exposed to the world.
Spitzer was more likely to be a guest of Dr. Phil than a host of his own program, but
executives at CNN were thinking more like Jerry Springer and felt that trash TV was the
ticket to higher ratings. Having a former politician who is a liar, adulterer, and fraud with
zero credibility, would be the ticket to big ratings for a network in dire need of them, right?
The Spitzer show didn't exactly work out for them. It was cancelled quicker than you
can say Client number 9.
Shapiro, a longtime sports jock at 790 The Zone in Atlanta, was fired in June along with
his two co-hosts for mocking and making fun of Steve Gleason, the former New Orleans
Saint who is suffering through the worst stages of ALS. Shapiro had been a contributor to
CNN in the past, mainly because he works and lives in Atlanta where the network is based,
and convenience is a big part of everything in television.
The last time we saw CNN, he was like the emperor with no clothing. In mid-June, the
network invited Shapiro on to give his side of the story about making fun of a man who
is on his way to dying. The man who made a career of making jokes at the expense
of others, tried to worm his way out of an inexcusable act with an excuse that fell on deaf ears.
Brooke Baldwin, the host of the program, embarrassed Shapiro when she pointed out that
Shapiro was "visibly shaking". I almost expected the cameras to pull out to show the small
puddle that formed beneath Shapiro. "Steak, why are you shaking?" Baldwin asked. Shapiro,
after mocking a man on the way to his grave, had no answer. That's what you call the
Steak n' Shake.
But there was Shapiro back on the set Tuesday morning. At first, I thought CNN offered
Shapiro the appearance as a "make-up" for how they embarrassed him on world-wide television
two months earlier. It happens a lot in television. But then I thought about the ratings and convenience thing. Executives were probably thinking that Shapiro has some name recognition
and is a train wreck. Yep, that's the ticket to getting some attention on Twitter and numbers
in the ratings book, they must have thought.
Surprisingly, CNN brought Shapiro on, whom they introduced as a "sports journalist", which
is beyond comical. As someone who has been in the business covering sports, a sports radio
jock is not a "journalist." Shapiro watches games, talks about what he saw, and then takes a
call from Billy Joe in Buckhead to get an opinion. He is nothing close to a "sports journalist".
Mike Galanos, the host of the show who is a journalist, wanted Shapiro's expert opinion
on the story of two high school coaches who brawled in the middle of the game. He asked
Shapiro about the character, professionalism, and leadership of the coaches, which seems
to be akin to getting Antony Weiner's opinion on the benefits of sexting.
You're asking a man who thought it was funny to lampoon a former NFL player dying of
ALS about the character of two high school coaches? You're asking a man who was so
desperate for a laugh that he had to take shot at someone who couldn't walk, talk, or breathe
on his own, about integrity?
That is really sad, but I guess when moving the needle of the ratings meter becomes the
most important thing, credibility really doesn't matter. Just ask Jerry Springer.
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