"Wheel of Justice" - can "Running Man" be far behind?

[Trancendental]

CINCINNATI — When Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory urged residents to help capture the area's 50 most-wanted criminals, longtime TV crime reporter Deborah Dixon wasted no time on fancy computer graphics or high-tech gadgets.
The WKRC reporter tracked down mug shots of fugitives in the viewing area, taped them to a wheel the station rented at a party shop, and the "Wheel of Justice" was born.
The 6 a.m. Wednesday segment is so popular it has attracted the eye of at least one of the fugitives on the wheel. Hamilton County, Ohio, officers said Lonnie Chenault told them last week as they arrested him he had watched the wheel spin.
Chenault, 43, a convicted sex offender wanted for failing to register with the sheriff's office, was on the wheel and became one of two people arrested recently thanks to viewers' help. Those arrests brought the total arrested to 19 after 17 spins in as many weeks.
"It's CrimeStoppers, game-show style," said Hamilton County Sheriff's Office Cpl. Nick Schibi, who spun the wheel recently with partner Dennis Brogan. They've made four of the arrests themselves.
Mug shots of the fugitives — mostly sex offenders and drug dealers — are placed on the wheel, and a $500 reward is offered for information that leads to the arrest of the person where the wheel clicker stops. Anonymity is offered for tipsters...

http://washingtontimes.com/upi/20060609-102028-6237r.htm

Give me the Justice Department, Entertainment Division!

 

[mykevermin]

That's quite a leap in logic to go from "Wheel of Justice" to "The Running Man." It's the ol' bmulligan patented slippery slope.

Shamefully, I live in the Cincinnati area and had never heard about this until now. I loathe local news coverage (here or anywhere) with a passion, so I just read the paper instead.

 

[Maklershed]

Yeah I'm not sure I get the Running Man reference in this case. And what makes this any different than a low budget Americas Most Wanted?

But anyway, I have predicted numerous times that we will see a real life running man type show in this generation. I think it's a no brainer with increasing crime rates, degrading moral standards (especially when it comes to what's on TV), and the increasing popularity of reality tv shows.

 

[Trancendental]

[quote name='Maklershed']Yeah I'm not sure I get the Running Man reference in this case. And what makes this any different than a low budget Americas Most Wanted?[/quote]

It's just a comment about the increasing blend between justice and entertainment.

Yes - there is a long way to go until we get to running man, but I believe it's less like a slippery slope and more of that old adage about the frog and the boiling water.

 

[Dick Tracy]

If they were rapists, I'd play.

 

[mykevermin]

[quote name='Maklershed']increasing crime rates[/quote] That's not true. Crime rates have been consistently decreasing since the mid 1990's.

degrading moral standards (especially when it comes to what's on TV)

While I'm not certain that this is a fight I want to pick, I'm not prepared to say that society was less outraged in the days when Rosemary Clooney would wear too-tight a sweater than they do in the days when nipple slips are the bawdy norm. Also, I'd say that I am outraged by the morals of a society that thought "Amos n Andy" was good family entertainment. Then again, we do have the BET and UPN these days, so the more things change, huh?

and the increasing popularity of reality tv shows.

Well, you're right about that. It's lasted far too long to be a fad anymore. Me? I blame "Friends" for reality TV, but that's neither here nor there.

 

[evanft]

I don't understand how people can say we have low moral standards today. I mean, the races and sexes are more equal than they ever were and economic oppurtunity is much greater now thanks to the great increase in government-funded tuition grants.

 

[Drocket]

[quote name='evanft']I don't understand how people can say we have low moral standards today. I mean, the races and sexes are more equal than they ever were[/QUOTE]

A lot of people see that as a sign of moral decay right there. After all, everyone knows that a woman's place is in the home - allowing women the right to work and live on their own is a clear sign that we're on the fast track to hell. And lets not even get started on wetbacks demanding rights and uppity negros who think they're equal to whites.