TELEVISION TALK SHOWS AND THE PUBLIC SPHERE

The concept of public sphere, which was first introduced byhabermas, refers to the notion of a public domain or arenawhere discourses on various issues take place in society. centralto habermas’ idea of public sphere is the principle of equalopportunity for everyone to participate in a debate, and the abilityof individuals to communicate, negotiate and articulate ideasamongst themselves. television talk show in this respect couldbe seen as a mechanism to promote the idea of public sphere. inmalaysia, television talk show is fast becoming a popular televisiongenre and has an important place in television scheduling. inthis regard, the latest development in local television scenarionecessitates an in-depth investigation into the extent to which theconcept of public sphere vis-a-vis talk show can be regarded asdomain where various issues about malaysia are discussed.