Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Most radio and television programming encompasses talk in some form, but the term broadcast talk is usually understood as a specific category of programming in contrast to both fictional entertainment and traditional news. It refers to various programming genres that are broadly informational, to some extent nonscripted, and organized around processes of interaction (→  Narrative News Story ). Although some are ad hoc events produced independently (e.g., campaign debates, town meetings), most are regularly scheduled programs produced by broadcasters themselves (e.g., news interviews, celebrity talk shows, radio call-in shows). Each genre involves some combination of public figures, media professionals, and ordinary people as interactional participants. Broadcast talk programming has grown substantially in recent decades, especially in the medium of television. A variety of forces have contributed to this development, with technological and legal changes leading the way as enabling factors. In the US, and to a lesser extent in England, the number of television channels and news outlets has increased in part because of the advent of cable television. At the same time, satellite feeds and more portable news gathering equipment have facilitated live encounters with newsmakers virtually anywhere in the world (→  Cable Television ; Satellite Television ). And in the US, the demise ... log in or subscribe to read full text