Carol Marin didn’t think a host for a talk show known for its contorted relationships and staged catfights was qualified to produce serious news.

And she gave up her job to prove it.

“If you want to join this wonderful profession that gives you something new every day, save money now,” said Marin, an anchor for Chicago’s CBS affiliate who left NBC in 1997 when Jerry Springer joined the staff. “And prepare to be fired for the wrong reasons or quit on principle. For the privilege of making news, you make some sacrifices.”

As advertisers gain more influence on television news, responsible reporters should stand up for their ideals, Marin told about 200 people Monday at Fisk Hall as part of the Medill School of Journalism’s Crain Lecture Series.

When only a few newscasts ruled the waves, advertising dollars earned from entertainment programs helped fund documentaries and news programs, Marin said. But with the mentality that the news should rake in 60 percent of profits came new concepts in TV journalism: cross promotions, consultants and value-added deals.

“Entertainment feeds news and news feeds entertainment,” Marin said. “Yeah, we give people what they want. So do drug dealers.”

In cross promotions, news helps create a market for entertainment or products, and the entertainment in turn boosts ratings for the news. For example, if the station shows a movie on mountain climbers, the newscast might include profiles of climbers who scaled Mount Everest.

Consultants who are hired to please advertisers further the trend of catering to ratings, Marin said.

“Many of them don’t necessarily have a relationship to your news or your town, but they come in and tell you how to jazz (the newscast) up,” she said.

Nor do audience surveys help newscasters identify viewers’ needs, Marin said. Targeting a public concern for health can produce stories that are too vague to help viewers.

“Vitamin C will help your sex life today, ” she said. “Vitamin C will kill you tomorrow. That’s not health — that’s a category in a survey.”

Some relationships with advertisers aren’t so subtle. In value-added deals, those who advertise get more than the commercials they pay for. When some advertisers sponsor civic events, their work gets extra coverage, Marin said. Promotions for free health screenings at a local hospital might benefit drug companies and the hospital’s rate of walk-in visits.

But Marin said her departure from NBC does not reflect a general disgust for the media. Nor did she say Springer should not host his own show.

“You need to hear the people you don’t like,” Marin said. “You need to question them. Because if you don’t know who they are, how are you making the judgment?”

Similarly, of radio personality Howard Stern she said: “You may hate him. You may not. The fact is, you get to decide.”

Reporters should hold politicians accountable for their promises and actions, and use local events such as this week’s labor strikes to illustrate larger trends, Marin said.

But she said reporters and viewers are entitled to choose their own approach to news.

“I’m not the news police,” Marin said. “I’m not going to come into your house and tell you what to watch. The best thing we can do in this business is to decide who we are in it.”

Some students said they respect Marin for the role she plays in nightly news.

“She doesn’t do the chit-chat type of journalism,” said Erin Williams, a Medill freshman. “She just presents the facts. She’s taking a whole new twist on journalism, trying to clean it up.”