RUSSIA'S SOCIO-POLITICAL TV TALK SHOWS AS A PUBLIC OPINION TOOL

Abstract

The paper investigates Russian socio-political TV talk shows. There is a certain need to comprehend the socio-political situation in the Russian Federation and abroad, which is actualised by the processes of the geopolitical transformation of the surrounding world. The redistribution of the spheres of political influence and the search for a national identity determine the public demand for political programmes, socio-political TV talk shows in particular, which demonstrate high rating indicators in today's Russia. They indicate a consistently high public interest due to new political and communication challenges as well as an increased desire of the Russian political elites to control the public opinion by cultivating ideological attitudes, which leads to growth of audience loyalty to the current government.

Headnote

Abstract: The paper investigates Russian socio-political TV talk shows. There is a certain need to comprehend the socio-political situation in the Russian Federation and abroad, which is actualised by the processes of the geopolitical transformation of the surrounding world. The redistribution of the spheres of political influence and the search for a national identity determine the public demand for political programmes, socio-political TV talk shows in particular, which demonstrate high rating indicators in today's Russia. They indicate a consistently high public interest due to new political and communication challenges as well as an increased desire of the Russian political elites to control the public opinion by cultivating ideological attitudes, which leads to growth of audience loyalty to the current government.

Keywords: socio-political TV talk shows, television, geopolitics, propaganda, rating

Introduction

The interaction between journalism and politics is a process, which has a bright history and a rich biography in the modern world. It is actively involved in the process of dynamic development of information and communication technologies. As a result, the mutual influence of journalism and politics is becoming more multifaceted, acquiring new forms and characteristic features. The consequences of such an interaction have a direct impact on all spheres of life in the modern society. This influence greatly increases the relevance of a comprehensive study of this process in order to identify patterns and main trends of further development.

Thus, the aim of this research is to analyse the interaction between the Russian journalism and politics in the framework of the formation of basic attitudes in the society, values, beliefs and models of behaviour, which are expressed in the assessment of political events and in relation to politics in general. Another important question is how effectively the media can stimulate or slow down the process of forming the public opinion. It is closely related to the problem of the interaction between the political and journalistic elites, sometimes characterised by purely personal motives on one or both sides of the interaction. Attitudes of politicians towards journalists or vice versa are not parallel processes but intersecting ones. The nature of power and the position of journalism in the society mainly depend on where and how they intersect. It seems that the socio-political TV talk shows, which are broadcast today on the air of the vast majority of the Russian television companies, serve as a vivid illustration of the interaction between politics and journalism in the modern Russian society.

Methodology

The methodological basis of the article is based on the principle of historicism, which allows us to consider the topic in accordance with the chronological stages of the development of the genre of TV talk shows. In addition, the content analysis method has been used, which is the basis for the part of the article where thematic and genre features of Russian sociopolitical TV talk shows are analysed. We have also exploited the descriptive method and the contextual analysis method to identify features and specifics of the development of this genre and its impact on the formation of the public opinion. With the help of the comparative analysis method we have tried to identify the concept and characteristics of various sociopolitical TV talk shows as well as to study some statistical data about the audience of various television channels. Due to the analysis of the data, we are able to draw conclusions about the place and role of such TV talk shows in modern television broadcasting in the Russian Federation.

Interaction between the Russian authorities and mass media

The number of problems related to the interaction between the authorities and the media include highly specialised questions, which affect the information policy of publications, especially the formation of the "agenda", as well as large-scale processes of modern life, which are related to the mediation of politics in the modern society, and endowment of political processes with some elements of performances and shows.1 The redistribution of the spheres of political influence as well as the search for a national identity determine the public demand for political programmes, which demonstrate high rating indicators in today's Russia. On the one hand, it indicates a consistently high public interest due to new political and communication challenges; on the other hand, the political elite has a desire to control the public opinion by cultivating ideological attitudes that lead to growth of audience loyalty towards the current government.

There is no doubt that television journalism is one of the main ways of disseminating mass information in Russia, since the main features of television are screenness, speed of information dissemination, simultaneity and, most importantly, ubiquity, the latter allowing to deliver information to almost every home in the world. The development of television technologies not only made it possible to transmit live broadcasts, but also contributed to the improvement of the work of journalists themselves, which led to a natural increase in the number of genres and a subsequent segmentation of spectators according to their specific features and characteristics.

Types of television products can be classified according to their properties. Such division has developed historically, with the development of television journalism. Gradually, audience needed more thematic programmes; outdated formats lost popularity and consequently were replaced by new ones (due to it new television genres appeared with absolutely new features). Some programmes were invented independently, while others were based on already known projects. In fact, the system of genres is not stable at all: demands of television audience change all the time, and with such changes there is a transformation of products of television journalism, as they turn into hybrids of classical genres. One such syncretic genre is a TV talk show.

History of a TV talk show genre

Let us dwell on the history of talk shows abroad and in Russia. The origins of a talk show genre can be sought in the West.2 American journalist Phil Donahue is considered to be the founder of it.i There is a known fact that Donahue offered spectators to ask guests questions during live programmes, when he had no more questions left to be asked by himself. Donahue began to use this technique in other programmes that he broadcast on the regional channel where he worked. Initially, the presenter talked with little-known people, focusing on discussions regarding important life issues and some other scandalous topics. Over time, the TV show format gained the confidence of viewers, mainly due to its main characteristics - entertainment and special reliability.3 In the 1980s those broadcasts became common on almost all the main television channels of the United States and increasingly had the character of a discussion of scandalous and indecent topics.

Programmes of that kind appeared in the USSR a bit later. In 1985 there was a teleconference between Leningrad and Boston.4 We can consider it the starting point for the history of Russian (then - Soviet) TV talk shows. The moderators of that teleconference were Phil Donahue (from the American side) and Vladimir Pozner (from the Soviet side). In the following years there were several similar broadcasts between the USA and the USSR, which were very popular and touched on important social issues. Those television bridges looked like that: viewers asked guests questions from studios or by phone, could comment on their opinion, or got engaged in polemics. The programmes were live. Both ordinary people and celebrities were invited to studios. They saw guests on a big screen. Moderators translated what was said and at the same time they came with a microphone to those who wished to speak out. Those broadcasts are still a unique event in the Soviet and Russian television journalism.

It is believed that Vladimir Pozner is the first journalist who worked in the genre of TV talk shows. However, this genre was later very modified in Russia. After the disappearance of the Soviet Union from the world map, the country experienced very rapid changes, which affected television broadcasting as well. In the post-Soviet era there was an expansion of foreign television genres, which also affected the genre of TV talk shows. Like in the USA, TV talk shows became a platform for discussing scandalous events, often related to show business. Therefore, some programmes of that kind became very popular ("My Family" and "Let Them Talk" on the channel "Social Russian Television" ("Channel 1" / www.1tv.ru), or "What a Woman Wants" and "Live" on the channel "Russian Television and Radio" ("Russia 1" / www.russia.tv), or "Towards a Barrier!" and "The Principle of Dominoes" on the channel NTV (www.ntv.ru), or "Me myself" and "Windows" on the channel TNT (www.tnt-online.ru), and a lot of others. Of course, one of the main features of modern TV talk shows is entertainment.

Features of a TV talk show genre

Let us note some typological features of a TV talk show genre. The subject of any discussion is an urgent problem of public interest. From here follows the purpose of any talk show: to discuss an issue and then to evaluate and try to find a solution to it. Tasks of a talk show are 1) to turn a boring everyday topic into an interesting programme with intriguing elements; 2) to attract attention of audience and form a certain attitude to the topic discussed; 3) to look for ways to solve a particular problem. Researchers of a TV talk show genre identify four main components of a TV talk show: a host (or a moderator), invited guests and experts, viewers in a studio and an interaction process between them. A TV talk show host is a TV company representative who organises a conversation in a programme. He performs two functions in a show: that of an interviewer (he asks questions) and of a moderator (he directs a discussion in one way or another.5 Among his responsibilities during a TV talk show is to plan and properly build a conversation with an interlocutor, to respond to any changes in a conversation and to maintain a necessary line of a discussion for a conversation not to go beyond something indecent. Besides, shooting a talk show cannot do without invited guests, with whom a host communicates most of all. The main participants in such interviews are often: 1) specialists with knowledge in a specific field of activity (the main purpose of interviewing them is to obtain exclusive information); 2) celebrities (their lives are full of interesting events, and it makes them attractive to an audience); 3) other representatives of different sectors of the society, forming the public opinion.6 All TV talk shows have spectators. They are often selected by TV editors, who try to pick up an audience who will be really interested in what is happening in a studio. It should be noted that viewers do not always participate in discussions, but, at the same time, they serve to create an atmosphere of publicity.

Classifications of TV talk shows

There are a big number of classifications and varieties of TV talk shows. Each researcher determines in his own way how to classify TV talk shows.

For our study we have taken the classification proposed by the researchers N.V. Vakurova and L.I. Moskovkin.7 The first type of a TV talk show, which Vakurova and Moskovkin highlight, is a TV bridge. A TV bridge is a TV programme during which a television connection is established between distant points in order to exchange information or conduct a discussion between its participants.8 The main characteristics of a TV bridge include: 1) a mandatory presence of a large distance between communicating parties as a prerequisite for a TV bridge; 2) presence of two-way audio-visual communication (participants can see and hear each other through screens installed in studios); 3) presence of a television group which is responsible for a technical component of a broadcast; 4) presence of moderators and interlocutors (viewers) on both sides of communication.

The next type of a TV talk show is called by Vakurova and Moskovkin a television debate. These are election technologies which appeal to minds of voters, discussions with a candidate of his positions on the main issues of the society, clarification of his political platform, political programme, etc..9 The main features of television debates are: 1) communication of a moderator with one or more candidates about an election campaign; 2) television debates demonstrate oratorical abilities of a candidate; therefore, they necessarily contain populist phrases and expressions in order to please voters; 3) TV debates are legalised at the federal level, only registered candidates can participate in them; 4) it is often a very emotional type of a talk show, because candidates answer provocative questions, which often go beyond ethical framework. Nevertheless, it is a useful type of a talk show for voters, because they can understand whether they should vote for a candidate or not. It is in television debates that principles of openness and competitiveness of political processes are implemented.10

One more type of a TV talk show according to Vakurova and Moskovkin's classification is a conversation. It is a specific television genre of analytical journalism devoted to political, economic, social, moral, ethical and scientific problems. Unlike interviews, there is no questionanswer form of a dialogue. The conversation is built around an urgent problem, which parties want to solve by reaching a consensus through a discussion of various points of view and a selection of convincing arguments. A journalist, in this case, is trying to provide complete information ad hoc. It is also important for him to prevent a conversation from turning into a polemic, since the main goal of such a genre is always to solve an issue.

The last type of a TV talk show in Vakurova and Moskovkin's classification is a discussion. A television discussion is a public polylogue, during which there is a clash of different, even opposing points of view on a socially significant problem. It is the most emotional, and, due to it, the most rated type of a TV talk show. The main sign of a discussion is placing warring parties in the same studio. A discussion does not assume aiming at a certain result, because it is important to draw a viewer's attention to an existing problem by discussing a phenomenon from both sides. For the most part, modern Russian TV talk shows are based on discussions and, thus, they have the status of scandalous one ("Let Them Talk", "Live Broadcast", "We Speak and Show").11

There is also a classification of TV talk shows by a topic, which is especially relevant for our research. There are four topics of TV talk shows: cultural-educational, household, social, and political ones. TV talk shows with cultural and educational functions are conversations, which introduce audience to achievements of science and culture. The main subject for such a discussion is a situation in the field of education and enlightenment; it can be anything that happens in the cultural life of the society.

Family and household TV talk shows are based on principles of melodramas, i.e. they show ordinary people who are experiencing tragic and touching situations. In most cases such shows affect social problems of the society: alcoholism, drug addiction, divorce, unemployment, etc. In a studio there are always heroes, whose problems are under discussion, as well as a large number of experts (they can be doctors, journalists, or celebrities). Due to the fact, that such TV talk shows gain high ratings and go mostly in the evening prime time, their audience is the most ordinary people who may also be affected by the problem touched on a talk show.12 Illustrative examples of such talk shows are the programmes "Let Them Talk" ("Channel 1" / www.itv.ru) and "Live Broadcast" ("Russia 1" / www.russia.tv).

Socio-political TV talk shows are colloquial programmes in a form of a polylogue on socio-political issues.13 They raise issues of the political life of the country, such as the introduction of new bills, the foreign and domestic policy of the state, or prospects for the future. Typically, experts are prominent political and public figures who have disputes with each other in a studio.

Socio-political TV talk shows: classification, significant features, differences from country to country

The notion "socio-political TV talk shows" has come into use relatively recently. Only in 2014 TV talk shows of that kind became really popular in Russia; before that time they had not had much success on television. An active surge in publications on the topic of socio-political TV talk shows began in 2014 with the massive appearance of such programmes on the main federal channels of Russia. It was due to such resonant events as Euromaidan in Ukraine and the annexation of the Crimea to Russia. As a result, this phenomenon has been studied on a large scale only lately. Describing the basic principles of modern political TV talk shows, Yu.I. Dolgova notes that the notion refers to colloquial programmes in a form of a polylogue on socio-political topics. They are characterised by an abundance of emotional discussions about the geopolitical situation. In a studio there are usually about ten experts who participate in a discussion of a topic proposed by a presenter. In Russia there are such shows on every federal channel, and their timing sometimes exceeds even 2 or 3 hours.14 The interest of other researchers in the genre of socio-political TV talk shows is dictated by the need to update new trends that have appeared relatively recently in the organisational and ideological structure of political conversation programmes. I.D. Marlin states that the format became popular after the events in 2014, when the authorities needed to increase the level of legitimacy of their actions, so the popularity of those programmes was just situational.15 A number of researchers note that the ideological orientation of such Russian programmes is propaganda. The main topics for discussion are events in Ukraine, complicated relations between Russia and the USA, as well as other socially significant events, one way or another linked with the foreign policy of the Russian Federation.16 Researchers agree that the year of 2014 was a turning point not only in the Russian politics but in the world politics as well, because it "put the world before the illusory nature of integration ambitions", made it respond to new challenges, for example, updating the dichotomy "ownalien", "global-national", "right-wrong".17 Yu.V. Klyuev and D.V. Zubko formulate the goal of socio-political TV talk shows: the formation of a problematic and thematic space of public politics, orienting the audience to understanding and decoding the political reality. As a result, the level of social aggressiveness on the screen goes up, because discussions of pressing issues provoke participants' intolerance, which can even lead to assault in a studio. Thus, emotionality in such programmes exceeds logic, which gives a talk show a "tabloid" shade, while political analytics turns into a show.18 It is also obvious that there is a tendency towards politics visualisation, which has been repeatedly noted by researchers. As S.I. Simakova puts it, "a visual perception is becoming a dominant way of perceiving the world".19 It is absolutely true. In an effort to visualise politics, socio-political TV talk shows use a whole arsenal of tools, from arranging guests in a studio to showing imaginative stories, accompanied by gritty comments.

Let us offer our own vision of the essence of political TV talk shows. It seems to us that a socio-political talk is a television platform for active discussions of various opponents who have knowledge and authority in the field of politics and the society, as well as characterised by emotionality and a tendency to entertain the viewer. Political discussions cause a wide public resonance, due to participation of political experts who boldly and sometimes peremptorily express themselves on different occasions. The purpose of a political TV talk show is to draw attention of an audience to some socio-political issues discussed in a studio. The following tasks are set for that: 1) to arouse empathy with an audience for what is happening in a studio; 2) to make a viewer form a certain attitude to a given problem; 3) to make a comprehensively interesting programme with elements of intrigue, scandal and provocation out of a boring and ordinary topic. The object of a socio-political TV talk show is the modern society and processes that happen in it from the point of view of global political and social phenomena. The subject of socio-political shows are social, public and political ideas about what is happening in the modern reality. Participants of such a TV talk show similar to those in classic shows. In a studio there are usually: 1) a show host as a moderator, who directs a discussion (he fairly distributes time between participants in order to ensure that viewers receive maximum necessary information); 2) guests in a studio (there are political participants, who are in power or in opposition, and non-political people, who are not in power, but offer alternative solutions to a problem; they can often be journalists, who are influential in the society); 3) an audience (depending on a format of a discussion, it can be internal audience, i.e. present in a studio with the right to speak out, or external one, i.e. viewers at TV screens, who can participate by remote communication, making phone calls, text messages, Internet, etc.).

Researchers of the socio-political TV talk show genre have not identified a specific typology for ranking types of television programmes yet, so we will independently propose several classifications, according to which it would be easier to differentiate between the programmes of such kind. Firstly, according to the mentioned talk shows' release time they can be daily ("Meeting Point", NTV), weekly ("The Andrew Marr Show", BBC One), or released on a specific date or event (e.g. debates of candidates for the presidency of Ukraine on Channel 5). Secondly, if we talk about the format of a discussion, socio-political TV talk shows can be discussions in studios between several interlocutors ("Freedom of Speech", ICTV), or in studios with two opponents and a moderator ("The Big Game", Channel 1), or dialogues between a presenter and one person ("Moscow. Kremlin. Putin", Russia 1). For example, in the United States there is a widespread format of a discussion with experts at a distance in a form of debates: a presenter is located in a studio and communicates with several interlocutors who are in other cities. Finally, according to topics of a discussion TV talk shows can be dedicated mostly to foreign policy ("60 Minutes in Hot Pursuit", Russia 1), mostly to domestic policy ("Freedom and Justice", REN-TV / www.ren.tv), or hybrids ("Time Will Tell", Channel 1). In addition, it is worth noting that the majority of such talk shows are broadcast live. However, there are some, which are recorded in advance and released as a finished television product.

It is also important to mention conflicts as one of significant features of socio-political TV talk shows. Conflicts make journalists create outlines for each programme that they host. Such plans are usually based on conflicts.20 While defending their points of view, opponents of socio political TV talk shows have to use various communicative confrontational strategies. E.P. Yakovleva21 identifies the following tactics used by participants in a socio-political TV talk show during a conflict: 1) tactics of a negative assessment (a communicator condemns the subject of a discussion); 2) tactics of interrupting a discussion (opponents interrupt each other in order to speak out); 3) tactics of changing a topic (changing the topic of a discussion in order to avoid conflict points inconvenient for the communicator); 4) tactics of contrasting one's opinion with the interlocutor's one (imposing one's point of view in order to win a dispute with the help of arguments). Besides these strategies, E.P. Yakovleva identifies the following confrontational methods of conflict management: tactics of refuting information, tactics of manifesting doubt, tactics of disagreement, tactics of conveying information through a metaphor, tactics of a provocative question, tactics of rebuke, tactics of insistent persuasion, and tactics of an ironic assessment.22 We can say, all these kinds of tactics are successfully used in socio-political TV talk shows on Russian television.

Among other things, we can mention the fact that in different countries there are different formats of socio-political TV talk shows. On the air of American channels political programmes have a pronounced authorial character.23 It is noticeable even by the name of the programmes: the host's initials are added to the name of a TV show ("The Last Word" with Lawrence O'Donnell, "Hardball" with Chris Matthews, "Anderson Cooper 360", "Hannity"), since each of the hosts often conducts the programme, discussing events in the form of a monologue, because he is the author of the project. There are several distinctive features of European and American socio-political TV talk shows. They are the following: an invitation of opinion leaders and "big" politicians to a studio (for example, the Prime Minister and famous guests from the Parliament are often invited to talk shows in the UK); a very close location of guests and TV hosts to each other: they usually sit at the same table; a discussion is conducted almost without any emotion (guests do not interrupt each other, nor do they raise tones of their voices.24 As for political TV talk shows in the countries on the post-Soviet territory, the differences from their Western colleagues are rather significant. They are like that: a clear separation of opponents; guests are placed very far from each other (at least at a distance of 3 or 4 metres); experts often broadcast behind special pedestals: it gives the effect of speaking from a rostrum in a frame; a presenter is not only a moderator, but he can also "warm up" a conversation by expressing his own opinion to an opponent; there is nearly always an audience in a studio, while it does not always take place in programmes of Western countries; frequent impolite communication of participants with each other takes place: a high tone of statements, an interruption, use of jargonisms, insults, and generally a tense atmosphere.

Socio-political TV talk shows on Russian television

Political discussions held on Russian television channels are causing a widespread interest among the audience, thereby increasing impressive ratings. For example, according to the Mediascope data for 2017, the programme "60 Minutes" ("Russia 1") had a rating of 4.8: this indicator is the best among TV talk shows of a social and political orientation. It allowed the All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (www.vgtrk.com) to further increase the duration time of such talk shows by allocating another hour in the daytime (from 1 to 2 p.m.). It is worth noting that the success of such programmes is also due to the fact that they are broadcast in the prime time (a time period between 6 and 10 p.m.). So, the final part of the release of the programme "Time Will Show" ("Channel 1") comes out right after the "Evening News", and it is very important for programmes of this genre. Viewers are really interested in the opinions of well-known political experts (including foreign ones) who speak out on this or that occasion, and harsh statements addressed to each other attract Russians to the screens even more. There is also an opinion that the popularity of the socio-political TV talk show genre is associated with a high rating of public confidence in the authorities.25

As far as we can see, the main reasons for the increase in the volume of political content on Russian television are the following: acquaintance of the Russian audience with the main events of political agenda, a kind of political information; an increase in television ratings as a method of competition between channels; building up of an image capital of the Russian authorities.26 Mostly due to all these reasons, socio-political TV talk shows have consistently enjoyed the attention of the public, demonstrating, on the one hand, impressive ratings and, on the other, a constant increase in airtime over the past five years.

Studying Russian socio-political TV talk shows, which are a public discussion of political issues, some researchers state that the ideological orientation of those programmes is propaganda by nature. Thus, such talk shows serve as a means of political influence, because they express points of view of the current government, norms and ideological values. So, I.D. Marlin believes that the increase in ratings of those programmes occurred only because the Russian authorities needed to increase the level of legitimacy of their actions.27 Yu.I. Dolgova notes that, as far as the most popular topic of Russian socio-political TV talk shows is the crisis in Ukraine, we can conclude that such talk shows correspond to the policy of the Russian state at least in that matter.28

In response to all kinds of accusations from Western countries, Russia's information policy includes creating its own picture of the world as well as organising an agenda, and this process requires the use of technology in order to evaluate actions of other countries and maintain its own reputation in the eyes of Russians. Socio-political TV talk shows have been created to spread a positive image of the authorities. They run for several hours on weekdays, deliberately telling about the failures of "foreign partners" and Russia's successes in the foreign policy, but at the same time paying little attention to problems in its domestic policy. Such a technique in the theory of propaganda is called "chatter".29

Positive Ratings of Russian socio-political TV talk shows and programmes of other kind

We have analysed the television broadcast of Russia's main TV channels: Channel 1, Russia 1, and NTV in order to confirm the above reasons for increasing the time spent on politics on Russian television. To begin with, we have compared the television network of each channel in terms of the time allocated to socio-political TV talk shows for the last three years on November 1st, and also on April 1st in the years of 2016-2019 (weekdays).

As we can see from table 1, over the past four years television channels have only increased the airtime of socio-political TV talk shows. All the federal channels have succeeded in it, having launched one (or even two) new TV programmes. On average, the broadcast time of the socio-political TV talk shows has doubled. The figures of the channel "Russia 1", which broadcasts socio-political TV talk shows for almost a third of the day during the prime time ("60 Minutes" and "Evening with Vladimir Solovyov") are especially striking. It should also be noted that broadcasting on the channel "Russia 1" is also full of politics on Sunday evenings: first Vladimir Solovyov's programme "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin" (by the way, it is not included in the tables, because it is not a talk show), and then his "Evening with Vladimir Solovyov", which lasts for two or three hours.

It should be stated that the duration of political discussions has also increased in programmes of other genres. The popular entertainment programmes of Channel 1, "The Club of Cheerful and Resourceful" (KVN) and "ProjectorParisHilton", have also started to refer to politics these days. Jokes of the most KVN Premier League teams are created in such a way that they become consonant with the goals and requirements of the state propaganda broadcast on the federal television: in the mentioned programmes we can hear and see a lot about Russia's unfriendly relations with Europe and the USA, V. Putin's heroisation, and discretisation of Western values.30 The releases of "ProjectorParisHilton" in 2017 often had a foreign policy debate as well. Among the star guests invited to the programmes were such statesmen as M. Zakharova, N. Poklonskaya, and A. Kudrin.

It should be noted that after the year of 2017 the programme "ProjectorParisHilton" was restarted due to political matters discussed it it. The 2017 television season of the programme was very successful: the rating was from 2% to 5% (the number of spectators of the programme was the highest despite the fact it was released on late Saturday evening). Besides, on YouTube each issue of the programme had a minimum of 2 million views, always getting into Youtube's Trending tab. The programme named KVN is still one of the most popular entertainment programmes on Channel 1, and its jubilee issue in 2016 became the highest-rated television event of the year.

Socio-political TV talk shows have a persistent positive dynamics in their rating indicators. As part of the study, we have carried an additional content analysis of socio-political TV talk shows on Russian television, which are similar in a format: "Time Will Show" ("Channel 1"), "60 Minutes" ("Russia 1") and "Meeting Point" ("NTV"). We have compared the issues of the programmes, which were released on February 19th, 2020.

Thus, we see from table 2 that the main topics of Russian sociopolitical TV talk shows are mainly about events that have a political or near-political agenda. Moreover, discussions have an extremely tendentious orientation, with a strong agitation component and sharpened polemics. The main message is that only the current government is able to cope with the problems of our time, adequately respond to challenges and political demarches. The vivid emotional component of a socio-political TV talk show, consisting of a special selection of guests and an expressive manner of broadcasting, emphasises the propaganda nature of television programmes, their pronounced political engagement.

It is also important that almost all socio-political TV talk shows have a positive dynamics in their rating indicators. The "60 Minutes" programme was a unique event in the 2017 / 2018 television season: its seven episodes became the most rated among all the programmes in the genre of a sociopolitical TV talk show, over the year the figures of the most rated programme have increased from 4.8 % to 5.7%.31 At the beginning of its broadcasting the rating indicators were 3.2%.32 The programme "Evening with Vladimir Solovyov" in the 2017 / 2018 season had the best rating among other political programmes of that year: 4.3%, while the programme is broadcast in late prime time and lasts for almost three hours. V. Soloviev maintains good rating indicators, which are compared with the previous season, although earlier ratings reached 5%. The programme "Time Will Show" has significantly increased indicators: in January 2017 the rating was from 2% to 2.5%, while now the figures are reaching 4%. However, average indicators remain around the same 3%, like in the times when Peter Tolstoy was the host of the programme. Finally, the "Meeting Point" programme occasionally shows good rating indicators, e.g. the show which took place on October 12th, 2018, but the average rating is still from 2% to 2.5% (Leading TV programmes by genre among Muscovites).

Conclusions

We believe that the success of political content on Russian television is apparent and determined by the need for communication support of the domestic and foreign policies of the Russian Federation. A high demand for political information can be traced both from the audience and the current government, the latter seeking to obtain public approval of the current political course. It is obvious that the Russian television audience desires to understand the geopolitical agenda, form their own opinions on current events, and find authoritative confirmation from experts and politicians.

It is evident that in the nearest time the popularity of socio-political TV talk shows won't decrease. It should be noted that the process of increasing the flow of information, coming from the government and aimed at maintaining a common political discourse, will continue. In turn, it will affect the further increase in the quantitative and qualitative diversity of socio-political programmes.

Footnote

1A.L. Kodanina, "Politics and journalism as related communication spheres", in Vestnik of Lobachevsky University of Nizhni Novgorod, vol. 2 (2), 2014, pp. 444-447.

2B.M. Timberg & B. Erler, Television Talk: a History of the TV Talk Show, University of Texas Press, Austin.

3 K.E. Orlova, "The influence of a showman's positive image on talk shows", in Problems of modern science and education, vol. 23 (105), 2017, pp. 90-92.

4 T. Matza, "Moscow's Echo: Technologies of the Self, Publics, and Politics on the Russian Talk Show", in Cultural Anthropoogy, vol. 24 (3), 2009, pp. 489-522. Retrieved August 4, 2020 from https://www.jstor.org/stable/25619793; L.N. Fedorova, I.A. Krasavchenko, "Television bridges "USSR-USA" as visible evidence of perestroika" (part 1), in Mediaalmanac, vol. 1 (78), 2017, pp. 58-68.

5 V.I. Thorik, V.V. Katermina, & A.M. Prima (Eds), "Talk shows: features, components, properties", in Interdisciplinary aspects of linguistic research, book 9. Krasnodar, 2016.

6 D.A. Shchitova, "Interview as a way to create an image", in Bulletin of Tomsk State University (philology), vol. 4 (20), 2012, pp. 146-153.

7 N.V. Vakurova, L.I. Moskovkin, Typology of genres of modern screen products: teaching aid Workshop of television journalism, Moscow, 2016.

8 T.F. Efremova, The modern explanatory dictionary of the Russian language (in 3 volumes), vol. 3, Astrel, Moscow, 2006.

9 E.N. Davyborets, "Elections in Russia: Institute of Democracy or Attribute of Autocracy", in Sociological studies, vol. 10, 2015, pp. 49-56.

10 M.A. Baum, "Talking the Vote: Why Presidential Candidates Hit the Talk Show Circuit", in American Journal of Political Sciece, vol. 49 (2), 2005, pp. 213-234. Retrieved September 14, 2020 from https://www.jstor.org/stable/3647673; M.A. Baum, A.S. Jamison, "The Oprah Effect: How Soft News Helps Inattentive Citizens Vote Consistently", in The Journal of Politics, vol. 68 (4), 2006, pp. 946-959. Retrieved September 29, 2020 from https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1111/j.14682508.2006.00482.x.

11 N.V. Vakurova, L.I. Moskovkin, Typology of genres of modern screen products: teaching aid, Workshop of television journalism, Moscow, 2016.

12 X. Yan, "TV talk show therapy as a distinct genre of discourse", Discourse studies, vol. 10 (4), 2008, pp. 469-491. Retrieved September 20, 2020 from www.jstor.org/stable/24049291.

13 Yu.I. Dolgova, "The Phenomenon of Popularity of Socio-political Shows on Russian TV in the Fall of 2014 - in the Spring of 2015", in Bulletin of Moscow University (series 10: journalism), vol. 6, 2015, pp. 175-176.

14 Yu.I. Dolgova, "Transformation of Socio-political Television Broadcasting in the Post-Soviet Period: Factors, Parameters, Problems", in Bulletin of Moscow University (series 10: journalism), vol. 5, 2018, pp. 62-82.

15 I.D. Marlin, "Political talk shows as an information resource in the political system of modern Russia", Youth and Science of the 21st Century. Society, state and law in a historical context, Krasnoyarsk, 2018, pp. 15-16.

16 A.A. Grabelnikov, N.S. Gegelova, "Political talk shows on Russian TV channels", in Bulletin of the RUDN University (series: literary studies, journalism), vol. 23 (2), 2018, p. 236.

17 M.V. Zagidullina, "Information field of Russia in 2014: on the fragility of the "cultural layer"', in Media Environment, vol. 9, 2014, pp. 5-9.

18 Yu.V. Klyuev, D.V. Zubko, "Political talk shows on television: knowledge through entertainment", in Information Age, vol. 1 (2), 2014, p. 88.

19 S.I. Simakova, "Visual turn: a new philosophy of the image in the media of communication", in Bulletin of Chelyabinsk State University, vol. 10 (420), 2018, p. 226.

20D.G. Gadzhimusilova, "Talk show on a modern screen", in Baltic Humanitarian Journal, vol. 6, no. 1 (18), 2017, pp. 29-32.

21 E.P. Yakovleva, "Tactics of speech behaviour of political talk show participants in a conflict situation", in Modern discourse analysis, vol. 3-2 (20), 2018, pp. 106-112.

22 Ibidem.

23 Yu.V. Zhorova, "Political Information in the Broadcasting System of the USA and Russia", in Vlasť, vol. 2, 2014, pp. 101-104.

24 J. Thornborrow, "Authenticating Talk: Building Public Identities in Audience Participation Broadcasting", in Discourse studies, vol. 3 (4), 2001, pp. 459-479. Retrieved September 20, 2020 from https://www.jstor.org/stable/24047528; J.E. Manga, Talking Trash: The Cultural Politics of Daytime TV talk Shows, New York University Press, New York and London, 2003; M. Ekström, "Hybridity as a resource and challenge in a talk show political interview", in M. Ekström & M. Patrona (eds.), Talking Politics in Broadcast Media: cross-cultural perspectives on political interviewing, journalism and accountability, John Benjamins Publishing Company, Amsterdam, Philadelphia, 2011, pp. 135-156.

25Yu.I. Dolgova, "The Phenomenon of Popularity of Socio-political Shows on Russian TV in the Fall of 2014 - in the Spring of 2015", in Bulletin of Moscow University (series 10: journalism), vol. 6, 2015, pp. 175-176.

26 A.V. Ryazanov, "Specifics of the genre of socio-political talk shows on Russian television", in Media in the modern world. Young Researchers, Saint Petersburg, 2019, pp. 294-296.

27 I.D. Marlin, "Political talk shows as an information resource in the political system of modern Russia", in Youth and Science of the 21st Century. Society, state and law in a historical context, Krasnoyarsk, 2018, pp. 15-16.

28 Yu.I. Dolgova, "The Phenomenon of Popularity of Socio-political Shows on Russian TV in the Fall of 2014 - in the Spring of 2015", in Bulletin of Moscow University (series 10: journalism), vol. 6, 2015, pp. 175-176.

29 V. Sorochenko, Encyclopedia of propaganda methods. How we are treated by the media, politics and advertising, Novgorod, 2002, p. 116.

30S.I. Simakova, "Visual turn: a new philosophy of the image in the media of communication", in Bulletin of Chelyabinsk State University, vol. 10 (420), 2018, pp. 225-232.

31 A. Uspenskiy, Television season results in ratings: football, Putin, Kemerovo and Armen Dzhigarkhanyan, 2018. Retrieved August 4, 2020 from

https://tjournal.ru/ 74135-itogi-telesezona-v-reytingah-futbol-putin-kemerovo-iarmen-dzhigarhanyan.

32 I. Karev, Talk about politics, 2017. Retrieved August 4, 2020 from https://www.gazeta.ru/culture/2017/02/22/a_10539917.shtml.

References

Baum, M.A., (2005), "Talking the Vote: Why Presidential Candidates Hit the Talk Show Circuit", in American Journal of Political Sciece, vol. 49 (2), pp. 213-234. Retrieved September 14, 2020 from https://www.jstor.org/stable/3647673.

Baum, M.A., Jamison, A.S., (2006), "The Oprah Effect: How Soft News Helps Inattentive Citizens Vote Consistently", in The Journal of Politics, vol. 68 (4), pp. 946-959. Retrieved September 29, 2020 from https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1111/j.1468-2508.2006.00482.x.

Davyborets, E.N., (2015), "Elections in Russia: Institute of Democracy or Attribute of Autocracy", in Sociological studies, vol. 10, pp. 49-56.

Dolgova, Yu.I., (2015), "The Phenomenon of Popularity of Socio-political Shows on Russian TV in the Fall of 2014 - in the Spring of 2015", in Bulletin of Moscow University (series 10: journalism), vol. 6, pp. 175-176.

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