Abstract

Television, a modern hypostasis of mass-media's, through some of its concrete manifestations: entertainment programmes, reality shows, talk shows, game shows, even news broadcasts and documentaries, displays a generous array of discourses - from discourses concerning cultural or political life to economic, commercial, crisis, unemployment, crime and violence, racism, gender, and so on, discourses. According to their specificity, such television programmes cope with or break the social conventions, the rules of professional deontology, the interlocutor's / the interviewee's wishes, the audience's expectations. The topic and the purpose they are looking for (along with some other contextual factors) determine the cultural level of debate / conversation, the message construction and the type of language involved. Sometimes, their managers' striving for a wider audience and their material interests prevail over the quality of these programmes. Where is then, if any, their formative / educative role, which is the public opinion regarding the former one's attitude, implications and outcomes and how could / should the two of them (media and audience) influence each other? - here are a few questions meant and liable to be asked and answered in the paper below.