Talkshows in America (infuence they have on people) Essay

Talkshows in America (infuence they have on people) - Essay Example But then these shows or discussions could only be attended by a group of people living in the proximity of the places where those meetings or discussions were arranged. And contrary to what is today, earlier people from other parts of the world were not aware of such events or discussions, as there was no medium through which others could witness these events. But with the invention of Television and Radio, the world came closer, and people from all over the world could hear them on Radio or see them and hear them on Television. In the early twentieth century, Radio was the only medium of entertainment. According to the historian, Wayne Munson, the first ever Talk Show was broadcasted on Radio over WBZ in Springfield, Massachusetts in the year 1921. It was related with farming. Usually experts conducted such talks and the purpose of arranging these programs was for educating the audiences. The hosts of these shows took the audiences in altogether different world of knowledge and entertainment. One Mr. Alexander Woolcott on WOR in New York shared his experiences of the different kind of people he met and the books he read, on the radio. Thus, at that time, hosts were the people who spoke and the audiences listened to what they said. Audiences were passive listeners and there was no one to one interaction between the host and the audience. But in 1930's there was a sudden change and the audience became an active member of these shows. In a radio program hosted by Houston called Vox Populi, a recorded intervie w of a man on the street was broadcasted. Thus audiences were enthralled by this innovative idea of involving audiences in the program, which thereby increased the popularity of that program. Thus many other producers too were inspired by this idea and they too copied the same. This is how the audiences were also involved in the programs. It was for the first time in the program of Barry Gray on WMCA that a phone call was received while the program was on air. Thereafter, 'audience request lines' were developed and the novel idea of playing music on the request of audience was implemented. (Ellen Hume - Talk Show Culture) In the year 1948, after the invention of television, people began to enjoy the audiovisual programs. It was during this time that people could actually see their favorite celebrities talk on the shows. Talk show, was a program on television, wherein a certain group of people came together to discuss certain issues. It was conducted by a host and different people who were experts in that particular field were invited on the show. The host before conducting the show prepared the outline of the program keeping in mind the public interest. And he invited the experts who could speak on this topic very well and who could answer the questions of the spectators satisfactorily. The show was generally interactive. The concept of Talk Shows was an outcome of the fusion of news and entertainment. It was informative as well as entertaining. In a talk show the host asks questions to the experts and they answer those questions. Sometimes if a small group of experts are invited then there is a group discussion on certain topics. With every expert or participant giving his personal opinions, the spectators can make a study of that particular topic from different angels. The topics selected for Talk Shows are mostly sensitive or have great