Performing Politics

[First paragraph] In the early 1990s, Sonia Livingstone and I wrote a book on the emergence of a popular cultural form, the television talk show (Livingstone and Lunt 1994). A novel feature of such shows was that members of the public found themselves face to face with members of the establishment, sometimes serving politicians, who they could question, or engage in discussion or debate under the watchful eye of the program host. Overall, we saw merit in such programs in that they skillfully manage several tensions: between populism and public accountability, between expression and rational discussion, and between conflict and creative disagreement. The programs also seemed to be both serious and entertaining.