Abstract
Within the framework of an interactionnist perspective on discourse analysis, this paper deals with the discursive construction of the public and private spheres in media debates. Focusing on the French media, one observes a current trend to mix up the construction of the public and the private spheres in the practice of media information and more generally a shift from civic information to pure spectacle. This state of affairs is particularly manifest in debates. We first discuss this issue and then define the discursive properties of three types of debates. One of these: the statement's talk show debate manifests best the blurring of boundaries between public and private domains. Finally, we analyze the discursive dimension of an excerpt of a well-known French program ("C'est mon choix": FR3 channel), which is representative of this genre. Our analysis focuses on the discursive performance of the hostess as it is essential to understand what is at stake with media debates.
Highlights
Within the framework of an interactionnist perspective on discourse analy sis, this paper deals with the discursive construction of the public and prívate spheres in media debates
One observes in the field of discourse analysis as well as in the field of comrnunication and media studies, a current trend of the French media to mix up the construction of the public and the Revista Alicantina de Estudios Ingleses prívate spheres in the practice of media information
Focusing on statement's talk show debates, we analyze the discursive dimensión of an excerpt of a recent well-known French program ("C' est mon choix", broadcast by FR3 channel), which is representative of this genre
Summary
Following Livingstone and Lunt (1994) and Bourdieu (1996) in the field of sociology ofthe media, as well as Van Dijk (1991) and Charaudeau (1997) in the field of discourse analysis. The public sphere is bounded by civic concerns as opposed to the private sphere, which is constituted by strictly individual claims, as well as to the political sphere, where agents are spokespersons of a majority of citizens, at least in democratic societies In this view, the media play an essential (and complex) role: they contribute to the construction of the public sphere as they report the ongoing of public affairs and/or request the politicians to communicate what is at stake with the ongoing of public affairs. Considering the foregoing, it seems that nowadays the media focus more and more on economical goals implying that information becomes a good means to do business In this view, shifting systematically from the public to the private sphere in media debates seems to represent a major resource exploited by all media to attract the audience and créate customer's loyalty. Lay people telling their life's experience with emotion and affect equals, or is even much more appreciated, than institutional or political experts providing reasonable argumentative discourse (see Shattuc, 1997; Hutchby, 2001; Toisón, 2001; Neveu, 2001; Charaudeau, 2005; Burger and Martel, 2005)
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