The Wall Street Situation: the NYSE Gets a Little Dirty Jersey

Cathy Horyn may not be a fan of Snooki’s inexplicable fame – in the snarky writeup heard ’round the web, Horyn describes the diminutive reality star as a “not conventionally attractive… like a turnip turned on its tip.” {New York Times} We don’t think there are enough strippers and mid-range escorts to make JWoww’s overpriced, but aptly named Filthy Couture collection a success. New Jersey governor Chris Christie wants to remind people that the crew isn’t actually from New Jersey, and doesn’t reflect his constituency. {The Hollywood Gossip} And plenty of people continue to scratch their heads over why there’s so much fascination with a group of people without any discernible talent.

Perhaps viewers just want something different from reality stars like Heidi Montag who achieve conventional prettiness by any means necessary, and self appointed style experts like Lauren Conrad. For whatever it says about pop culture and our entertainment choices as a society, the Jersey Shore has helped boost MTV’s year over year viewership, and parent company Viacom’s earnings outlook along with it. {WSJ}

So, it’s perhaps only fitting that all of your favorite orange people were on hand at the NYSE this morning to ring the opening bell to celebrate the season 2 which kicks off on Thursday. The cast has reportedly gone from $10,000 per episode to $30,000 for season 3, and as unfortunate as the results may be, we applaud the cast’s entrepreneurial spirit. JWoww looked surprisingly professional, though we aren’t holding our breath for business suits in the Filthy Couture lineup. Besides her clothing line, Mike “the Situation” Sorrentino is expected to launch a clothing line soon, Snooki will promote hair poof products, and Pauly D’s been using his newfound fame to work the DJ circuit (a line of hair gel probably wouldn’t be a bad move either). While gym, tan, laundry is the daily mantra, hopefully “business” will be added to the routine so that the cast’s options don’t disappear once the sun sets on the Jersey Shore.