"sleazing" of America society. They would limit the sexual content of talk shows, the violence, and other content they consider less than wholesome (Dupree, 1995).
What about the talk show participants themselves? Why would they reveal there deepest secrets to a national television audience? Are they just sleazy, neurotic, pitiful people? Or is there more operating here than is immediately apparent. There are actually several theories about why people self disclose on talk shows. One theory holds that talk shows provide a forum for the marginalized and disenfranchised, that they are actually empowering to underrepresented groups. Another theory focuses on the potential for evangelizing or informing the public which motivates some speakers. A third theory looks at the talk show as an extension of the therapeutic discourse that has come to rule American culture and conversation. Other theories look at the importance of problem solving, the reduction of social tension, and the displacement of ideological efforts. Let us look at these in more detail.
Phil Donahue was the original daytime talk show host. It was he who developed the format that others, like Oprah Winfrey, have refined and made so successful. Donahue lasted for years by providing a forum for many different kinds of people to talk about their personal issues, their uniqueness, and their sexuality, with the support or questioning of the studio audience.
According to Frank McConnell (1996), the problem with the Phil Donahue show was that he seldom featured substantive issues on his shows dealt with in a serious way. Instead, McConnell contended, Donahue was the first to equate gossip with information. He pioneered the audience participation format, which relied on self revelation by both invited guest and the audience itself. For Donahue, his guests, and his audience, this constituted information and problem solving, among other things. For McConnell, i...