Conversationalization and media empowerment in Greek television discussion programs

Abstract

This article explores the conversational practices of the hosts of Greek television discussion programs vis-à-vis experts. The aim is to discover, first, the extent to which media talk in Greece echoes the attested conversationalization of western media discourse, and, second, the discourse manifestations of this tendency in the Greek television media. It is shown that the discourse of hosts does indeed display an affinity to informal conversation. More specifically, far from sustaining a formally neutral stance, the presenters engage in overt alignment-building in support of experts, or, conversely, issue direct challenges toward them. In this framework, politicians are positioned as defendants in a courtroom hearing. It is argued that the hosts' strategies of personal involvement illustrate the celebration of personality by the media, and supply evidence of the empowerment of media actors and media institutions. Furthermore, the discursive practices of moderators help constitute the mediated political sphere in contemporary Greece.

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