Television Talk Shows: How to Evaluate What You Hear

Television talk shows leave us watchers with the problem of how to evaluate what we hear? There surely are plenty of television talk show options for people who have the time and inclination to watch talk television. You can pick from a pack that includes Oprah, Glen Beck, Chris Matthew, Bill O'Reilly , Keith Olberman and John Daly but unless you have some idea of how to evaluate what you hear you can end up going off in surprising directions carrying some useless and inaccurate, if amusing, baggage.

Evaluating television talk shows is in no way a simple task. But one way to begin is to distinguish among talk shows by deciding from the outset what the goal of the show is. For example if the show is meant to simply entertain, to be amusing, outrageous, silly , or goofy then you can proceed to watch that show the in the same way you would watch a soap opera, a cartoon or a sit-com. If the job of the show is merely to entertain then you don't need to take from it any deep lasting message. Sit back and enjoy but don't change your life based on what you hear on this show.

Once you have decided that a television talk show is meant purely for entertaiment then you only need to evaluate whether the show is successful as far as you are concerned. If you are entertained then the show is a hit and you are likely to watch it again. If on the other hand you don't find a talk show that is supposed to provide entertainment, to be either enjoyable or fun in any way then your evaluation will lead you to find a substitute show for that time slot. Either way your evaluation is complete.

But what about those talk shows that appear to be half news, half entertainment? How do you evaluate shows that include entertaining elements that are the window dressing or backdrop for a more serious discussion of current events. How entertaining are they? How seriously should you take them. To what degree should they influence your thinking on important political, economic,military or diplomatic issues? How trustworthy are their statistics? How to evaluate television talk shows is no easy matter.

One fair approach in evaluating television talk shows is to consider the academic background of those who hold the microphone. While academics are certainly never the final criterion in judging the value of a television talk show, the educational background of a host does speak to what has occupied his or her adult life for a considerable chunk of time. With that in mind when you evaluate a television talk show you might want to give a little more credibility to someone who has a graduate degree from a known educational facility than to someone who holds only a high school diploma.

You may also find it sensible to be influenced in your judgment of a television talk show by the kind of college work the show's central personality has completed. For example you probably should put more stock in the opinion or even banter of someone who studied economics for four ears than someone who holds a broadcasting degree, especially if the discussion is about something like the Federal Reserve System.

Besides evaluating television talk shows on the basis of academics you might also want to consider the kind of work that someone did prior to taking over the helm of a television talk show. A host whose previous work brought him or her in contact with the pulse of the nation probably has more to offer than someone who has little in the way of real life connection to ongoing national issues. In other words, it can be helpful in evaluating the talk show host to know what his or her life experiences have been like.

Finally in evaluating television talk shows you should never leave out that special element. What special friendship, experience, job, encounter, even hardship does the host have on his or her resume that will lend credibility to what he or she has to say. Has the host served two years in the Peace Corps, been an Eagle Scout, toured with the USO, worked as a Senate page, traveled with a stage company of "Annie". What special something does the host have that will color his or her position on just about anything.

We all have our television favorites even among television talk show hosts. All have the ability to entertain. But when entertainment crosses over into the news analysis it is time for each viewer to do a little analysis on their own. You'll feel better about the sound bites you take away from a television talk show after you have really
thought through the reliability of its host.

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