moving to California, Schlessinger continued her
education, receiving certification in marriage, fam-
ily, and child counseling from the University of
Southern California.
Schlessinger began her radio career in 1974 when
she called into theBill Ballance Show, where she be-
came a weekly guest. Her weekly segment brought
her recognition and her own show on several small
stations. By 1979, she had an evening call-in show
from 9:00p.m.to midnight on KWIZ-AM in Los An-
geles. In the late 1980’s, Schlessinger began filling in
for Barbara De Angelis’s popular night relationship
talk radio program on KFI-AM in Los Angeles and
replaced her when De Angelis moved to the coveted
noontime slot. After De Angelis left the station com-
pletely, Schlessinger was moved to the prestigious
slot.
The Dr. Laura Show, which she referred to as a
“moral health program,” was syndicated nationally
in 1994. The show quickly became popular because
of Schlessinger’s trademark bluntness and ability to
get to the root of a problem quickly. In addition to
her radio persona, Schlessinger penned several
books throughout the 1990’s, includingTen Stupid
Things Women Do to Mess Up Their Lives(1994),How
Could You Do That?! The Abdication of Character, Cour-
age, and Conscience(1996),Ten Stupid Things Men Do
to Mess Up Their Lives(1997),The Ten Commandments:
The Significance of God’s Laws in Ever y-
day Life(1998), andWhy Do You Love
Me?(1999).
Schlessinger’s conservative insight
brought scrutiny to relationships.
She addressed issues such as extra-
marital affairs, premarital cohabita-
tion, and having children out of wed-
lock, all of which she vigorously
opposed. She became a target of crit-
icism for her antihomosexual re-
marks, in particular for calling ho-
mosexuality a “biological error.”
After Paramount Television an-
nounced plans for Schlessinger’s
television show in 2000, gay rights
activists organized protests against
Paramount and the host. Schles-
singer’s show began airing that year
but was canceled a year later because
of poor ratings.Impact Despite such controversy, Laura Schles-
singer’s no-nonsense advice both on-air and in her
books has helped many. Though her television show
was short-lived, the conservative moralist was one of
the most popular radio hosts of the 1990’s.
Further Reading
Bane, Vickie.Dr. Laura: The Unauthorized Biography.
New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2000.
Schlessinger, Laura.Bad Childhood, Good Life: How to
Blossom and Thrive in Spite of an Unhappy Childhood.
New York: HarperCollins, 2006.
Sara VidarSee also Abortion; Chopra, Deepak; Homosexual-
ity and gay rights; Limbaugh, Rush;Men Are from
Mars, Women Are from Venus; O’Reilly, Bill; Talk radio;
Winfrey, Oprah. School violence
Definition Crimes of physical assault in the school
context
School attacks were part of a growing pattern of juvenile
crime in the 1990’s. Rehabilitative, punitive, and deterrent
responses have posed significant challenges for criminal
justice personnel.750 School violence The Nineties in America
Laura Schlessinger at her radio show in 1998.(AP/Wide World Photos)