Jesse Ventura jumps into talk-show ring
By Brian Lambert
Knight Ridder News Service
He speaks to jackals!
Minnesota's former governor took a break from work on his long-aborning MSNBC talk show, granted an audience to a member of the slug-like, slime-trailing gutter press, and actually flashed both good humor and some of the common sense that got him elected to high office in what seems like another lifetime ago.
Jesse Ventura, former governor of Minnesota, is now busy wrestling into shape his new role as a future TV talk-show host.
First, the news, or nonnews as it may be.
Neither MSNBC nor Jesse Ventura is yet committing to an official start date for the live, hour-long show. Nor are they committing to a name (though "In the Arena with Jesse Ventura" is on a lot of tongues). Likewise, they're not getting too specific about the precise shtick. Although Ventura still likes the idea of laying into "the media" — which he granted means everything from local TV and newspaper (expletives) to the Bill O'Reillys and Sean Hannitys of the world.
He is not pleased with rumors that he's having a hard time adapting to the tricks of the TV trade. "I ran the entire state of Minnesota. Why would a little hour TV show bother me?"
But on the other hand, if the East Coast suits get squirrelly, as they are wont to do ... "It's play or pay, baby. You don't think I'd sign on for something like this if it wasn't, do you?"
Ventura makes repeated references to his show being "The only show on TV from the heartland, out of the Beltway," and seems serious when he says that.
Our Guy points out the relatively aged demographics for prime-time cable news. CNN, Fox News and MSNBC may have little appeal to 20- and 30-year-olds — the crowd that came out in force to vote him into the governor's office.
"Why should I come and try to get O'Reilly's viewers? Or Larry King's viewers? Why not create my own genre of viewers? If you look at the numbers, it leaves the 40s and 30s and 20-year-olds wide open for the picking. Why not do a show that's a little more hip, a little more progressive?
"I mean, let's face it. News today is entertainment. I don't care what Walter Cronkite and Tom Brokaw say. They can vehemently oppose me, but they're all looking at numbers. And you can tell by the stories they cover.
"Case in point: Laci Peterson. I mean there were what? 15,800 other murders? Now, as tragic as Laci Peterson's was, it can't be any more tragic than the 15,800 other murders that took place, and yet which one is focused on by every network media in the country? Why? Ratings points?
"So when they say they're here to deliver the news, they're not. They're here to entertain you."
Time will tell whether Ventura still has populist appeal and can transfer that to his own TV ratings, but it's always interesting how his demeanor and tone shift when you ask him a serious question.
For example, what does he think of President Bush's predicament over his rationale for going to war in Iraq?
"I think they were bound and determined they were going to war, and they decided they would use whatever excuse they could use to solidify that position in the public's mind."
He adds, "I didn't like the president when he made his quote 'Bring it on!' I felt offended in that he's not over there fighting. It's not his daughters over there. I don't like the arrogance of that."
