The Silver Fox Just Ain't What He Used To Be

So a few of you may remember that a few months ago I got an email from a producer at Anderson -- Anderson Cooper's Daytime talk show.  I got another one.  This is it:

Hello,

Hope all is well! Right now we were are working on a show about prenuptial agreements. We would love to hear back from you if you or someone you know has stories about these questions.

Do you have an opinion about pre-nuptial agreements, either for or against?

Do you have an opinion about couples who sign them and then regret it during their divorce?

Do you know someone whose life was impacted by a pre-nup?

We would love to hear from anyone and everyone! Please feel free to email me or call me at 212 275 8939. I hope to hear from you soon.

Brian
Brian Grobman
Anderson
1271 Avenue of the Americas // 16th Floor
New York, NY 10020

This is my response:

Hey Brian,
I do not know anyone who has a pre-nup. However, I have an opinion about
just about everything. I may try to blog about this subject. Since
opinions are never in short supply, you no doubt have a plethora of opinions
already. Should you be interested in mine, you can feel free to call me or
email me back. Good luck!
Ginger Caballero
Author, Counting Caballeros

First off, let me just say that unless you are an heiress or a prince or something, a pre-nup is a bad idea in my opinion.  I mean, what you are basically doing is saying that you expect to fail at married life; that either you or your chosen spouse isn't worthy.  I could see a pre-nup being a good idea if you were married, amassed vast wealth with your spouse and had kids, then were widowed and wanted to remarry.  A pre-nup would ensure that the wealth you and your late spouse had accrued would stay where you most likely intended it to go -- with your children.  But if you and your spouse are getting married and there are no children, there is no vast fortune, and there is not a throne involved, then you do not need a pre-nup.  Most pre-nups allow for each person to leave the marriage with what they brought into it and some division of the property or wealth that was earned together.  There are always exceptions or clauses that will make the agreement null and void, that will cause one person to forfeit their share, etc. 

At least that is what I have learned from watching lots and lots of television.

See, there is a huge gap in my friends list where all of the heiresses and royalty are supposed to go, so I don't really have any specific experience with pre-nups. 

Secondly, and more importantly, WHY is this a show topic?  Is this the same Anderson Cooper who has won awards for his reporting?  The same one known as "The Silver Fox?"  The winner of 5 Emmy Awards for outstanding journalism??  Why is he turning into Jerry Springer?

Seriously, I am curious why this highly intellegent, hard-hitting journalist who has covered stories from Beirut to the tsunami in Sri Lanka to hurricane Katrina, feels the need to "dumb it down" now that he is on daytime television.  I honestly do not know why networks believe that stay-at-home parents only want to see paternity tests, cheating spouses, and messy divorces.  I, for one, would love to see some useful stories about current events.  See, when the news is on in the evening, I am helping with homework, making dinner, and getting 4 kids in the bath and into bed.  So when I am folding laundry during the day (hey, I do that sometimes), I'd love to see a respected journalist like Anderson Cooper cover stories about the presidential candidates and their platforms (not about their sex scandal and drug abuse), or about controversial bills before congress, or about anything that I might hear about on CNN, Headline News, or MSNBC, but with more real opinions from other people just like me -- parents.  Sprinkle in a crock-pot recipe here and there, a story on how and where to do a family vacation on a budget, and an organizational tip or 2 and you'd have daytime television gold!  The sensational crap will still be there for those who want it -- Judge Joe Brown, and Jerry Springer aren't going anywhere. 

So if you are reading this Brian Grobman from "Anderson" -- fire your creative team.  Hire a few stay-at-home moms and dads to advise you and Anderson on acceptable and interesting show topics.  I told you last time you asked for my opinion that you need a panel of parent-bloggers to be on your show and that I could help you find some.  That offer still stands.