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instance look at the above excerpt. Who is being addressed in interaction? How is it
known that they are the targets of an utterance? How does one manage relations with the
audience to the panel discussion? How is the focus shifted away from oneself? When is it
appropriate to be politically or not politically correct? How do participants keep the
audience interested in the program? What purpose does this change in focus serve in the
interaction? In the above excerpt many of these issues are present especially choosing the
addressee. In this paper, I intend to unpack some of these issues as talk television has
evolved and created a new genre. I will then bring some possible dilemmas arising out of
this into focus.
Throughout the 1990s the number of American television talk shows soared and
as this occurred the amount of research also did. Discourse analytic studies are among
those flourishing in this area. This genre of television has interested researchers. Within
the last two decades studies have focused on the variation of genres, power relations and
the confrontational style of some programs.
This study focuses on the program, Politically Incorrect, en evening program
hosted by Bill Maher accompanied by panel members discussing political topics. I
examine how participants on this show juggle relations with the audience and the local
group in the conversation, which has implications for identifying one’s role and
maintaining image common among many television shows. In any given show, the panel
members have the options of two addressees, who are both listening simultaneously to
their comments on issues. Members choose whether to engage with their fellow panel
members in discussion or debate, who are immediately engaged, or they can choose to
disengage from the local conversation and perform for the audience (both in-studio and at
Convention