Page 105 - An Introduction to Political Communication Third Edition

POLITICS IN THE AGE OF MEDIATION

and renamed BBC Parliament. Although as yet watched only by a
small number of cable subscribers, it can be expected to expand its
reach in the digital era ahead. Through this output the citizen
encounters, in a uniquely raw and unedited fashion, the process of
political debate, and may judge the performances of participants
accordingly. Of course, many of the truly important debates remain
hidden from public view, but when a government has only a small
majority, as did the post-1992 Conservative government, House of
Commons debates can become a significant factor in political life,
and thus their availability through radio and television can only be
seen as a democratic asset.

Debates and talk-shows
Another format in which the broadcaster can provide a platform for
the exchange of political views is the structured debate programme,
exemplified by the BBC’s Question Time on television and Any
Questions on radio. On these programmes an impartial chair-
person presides over a debate between four participants, usually
grouped into, broadly-speaking, right, left, and centre (though non-
politicians are also included). The ‘public’ makes their contribution
by asking questions which the panelists must answer, prodded and
shepherded when necessary by the presenter. Here, one might argue,
the liberal democratic role of broadcasting is found in its purest
form, mediating between the public and its politicians, providing
the former with access to raw political discourse, and providing the
politicians with a channel of direct access to the people.
Of course, these formats have always been strictly controlled,
with panels, audiences and questions carefully selected so as to
minimise the chance of extreme positions getting on air or of
excessive confrontation between participants breaking the mood of
polite, parliamentary style debate. But as social deference has
declined in recent years and citizens grow used to treating their
politicians like equals, traditional debate-show formats have come
to be seen as rather tame and excessively rule-governed. In America,
meanwhile, the rise of the ‘confessional’ talk-show has shown a new
approach. In response, the British schedules have seen a growth in
the number of more lively, unpredictable talk-shows, as well as the
reform of established programmes like Question Time (McNair
et al., 2002). In the latter case, audience members are now invited
to speak more freely than they once did, and to ‘vote’ at the end of
debates. The chairman (at the time of writing, David Dimbleby)

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