Audiences Talking Genre: Television Talk Shows and Cultural Hierarchies

TitleAudiences Talking Genre: Television Talk Shows and Cultural Hierarchies
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2003
AuthorsMittell, Jason
JournalJournal of Popular Film and Television
Volume31
Pagination36–46
Keywordsaudience, Bourdieu, cultural studies, genre, survey, talk show, taste, television
Abstract

The author explores howaudience members make sense of the
talk show genre-from daytime issueoriented
programs to late-night entertainment
shows-through a qualitative
survey of television viewers. He argues
that the genre is linked to assumed
notions of identity and hierarchies of
cultural value that help explain the
genre's controversial history.