Jenny Jones

When she's not on trial or giving out makeovers, Jenny is busy typing away at her PC answering letters.

On television, there's more entertainment value in the confrontation rather than coming to a real resolution to a conflict. The net seems to foster an environment geared for more serious and intellectual discussion.

Well, not really. Anyone who has ever been on Usenet knows this is not the case. There's probably another, more rational explanation: Don't Squeeze the Sponsors. (See Below) At least that's the only way I can describe how Jenny answers letters addressed to her via the web site. In a move that's out of character for most talk shows, she consults an expert to answer the tough questions. Stranger still are the responses that she actually posts onto the site.

Consider the following question:

Dear Jenny, How ever do I need your help! I'm 18 and my boyfriend is 18 too. Well he was my boyfriend until he got my 13 year old sister pregnant! I never want to see either of them again. I don't know what to do, oh please help me. Kara

And the response:

Your boyfriend getting your 13 year old sister is heavy-duty and your gut reaction to never see both of them again might be a momentary fix. Your "boyfriend" can be replaced with a decent guy who would never think of cheating, much less with your sister. Sisters can't be replaced; and she will be your sister forever. It looks as though she made a foolish mistake which she must feel guilty and ashamed of. I hope she has not decided to be a mother at 13 when she would be a baby having a baby. They would both lose. [More]

Did I miss something here?

I don't know about you, but the Jenny Jones I know would have invited them on the show, confronted the boyfriend & sister in front of 100 screaming audience members, and then given her & her sister a makeover.

Blessed are the Sponsors,
For They Generate Cash

To quote the modern day sage Puffy Daddy: "It's all about the Benjamins, baby" and pleasing the sponsors is job number one.

Unlike other talk show sites, this one is jam packed with advertising. Obnoxious banner ads fill every screen from the Scrapbook to the Ask Jenny pages.

This is a web site promoting other advertiser-supported content. Does JennyJones.com really need sponsors, too?

It only takes a moment to figure out why:
This is a Warner Brothers Site.

You know the same people who bring you the WB network.

Their motto must be "shamelessly promote yourself without tact."

You would think that the same people who bought forth the Time Warner Pathfinder web site would have learned their lesson by now: the web is not like any other medium.

Is this the media giant's great new marketing strategy for the New Medias?

Universal, who spawned Springer, has a much more savvy approach: two sites.

One pure content &
One pure crass commercialism.

The Jenny Jones site throws both at you at the same time and it doesn't work. Distastefully tacky and over-commercialized, yes; but at least the web site doesn't hurt anyone physically.

One a more positive note, the behind the scenes area showcases the talented people who work behind the scenes.