Daytime Television Presentation: Judge Judy

Daytime Television Presentation: Judge Judy Christine Schinn & Nicole Shears

When & Where • When: Weekdays (Monday-Friday) @ 4:00 pm • Where: WCHS (channel 4)

Target Market • Mostly middle-aged to older aged viewers • Not commonly watched by teenagers • ¾ of viewers are female -75% female -25% male

Is it successful? • Yes approximately 10 million people watch this show every evening • Compared to other court-system based reality shows, Judge Judy is the most successful with the highest rates -Judge Judy: 7.8 -Judge Joe Brown: 2.9 -The People’s Court: 2.7

Conflict w. TV companies/People • Judge Judy’s bluntness, dry humor and aggressiveness are often taken in a negative manner.

Influence to Society • Judge Judy’s goal: to make a permanent impression that will discourage offenders and help heal families and victims of injustice

History of Judge Judy • First aired September, 1996 • Nominated ten times of Daytime Emmy Awards • Hollywood Walk of Fame Award in February, 2006

Expert Opinion I (Criticism) • "She is not portraying a judge as I view a judge should act. Judge Judy is discourteous, and she's abrasive. She's not slightly insulting. She's insulting in capital letters."

Expert Opinion II (Criticism) • "She is a disgrace to the profession. She does things I don't think a judge should do. She tells people to shut up. She's rude. She's arrogant. She demeans people. If she does this on purpose, then that's even worse. Judges need to observe certain standards of conduct. She just doesn't do it and I resent that. The public is apt to gain the impression that this is how actual judges conduct themselves. It says "judge" on the nameplate on the bench and she's wearing a robe."

Conclusion: • Going against the two prior opinions, Judge Judy provides Americans with entertainment, as well as justice for the wrongly accused.

Supporting Statement I: • “Judge Judy is an intelligent accomplished woman who knows the law.” -Arnold Nadler, professional business turn around expert

Supporting Statement II: • “She doesn't mince any words, she delivers justice that is fair to the parties involved, and she doesn't take any carp from anyone.” -New York Times

Supporting Statement III: • “she is abrasive, but she can smell a liar and abuser a mile away. I think she's always dead-on, and knows exactly what all these jerks are like. I have never seen her treat anyone badly that was in the right, I think Sheindlein knows her stuff.” -New York Times

Supporting Statement IV: • “Sheindlein is a kind of hard-hitting legal super-heroine, determined to make the courts work for the common good.” -Los Angeles Times

Supporting Statement V: • "Judge Judy" averaged 6.53 million viewers to "Oprah's" 6.45 million. The only other court show in the top 25 list of syndicated shows was "Judge Joe Brown," with 3.3 million viewers. -Richard Huff: New York Daily News

Bibliography • http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115227/ • http://www.geocities.com/southernerwriters/judgejudy.html • http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11333570/ • http://www.actupny.org/alert/judgejudy.html • http://www.google.com/image • http://www.judgejudy.com/

Daytime Television Presentation: Judge Judy