Autonomous thought and political talk show guests. A study of the television programme "Las Mañanas de Cuatro"

Abstract

Utilising the technique of content analysis, this article explores the discourse of guests invited to participate in the political debate that forms part of the television programme Las Mañanas de Cuatro. In general, their participation does not appear to be based on autonomous reflection, does not provide a complex analysis of social and political reality, and does not usually result in the transmission of well-founded opinions. Most panellists simply seem to play the role of spokesperson for certain media sources and political parties, reproducing the discourse of such entities. The discourse of almost all panellists is characterised by partisanship; as such, it is possible to classify the messages transmitted into specific groups according to their ideology. This leads us to the conclusion that these actors become a mere instrument to influence the process of public opinion formation. As a result, the talk show guests analysed do not appear to play a leading role in this process because, strictly speaking, they lack the ability to “fabricate opinion”, as proposed by Giorgio Grossi. However, the frequency with which many of the messages are repeated in the comments of different panellists also suggests that these actors do play a relevant role in generating the climate of opinion, leading to the impression that the views they express are in the majority and form part of a consensus.