COMMON-SENSE VERSUS POLITICAL DISCOURSE - DEBATING RACISM AND MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY IN DUTCH TALK SHOWS

In the past few years a considerable amount of literature has appeared concerning talk shows, in particular those with active participation of studio audiences. The evaluation of these shows in the light of the ir contribution to mediated public debates, varies from praise for pre sumed postmodern qualities to utter condemnation for their trivializat ion of everything deemed serious. This article confronts these views w ith an analysis of Dutch audience discussion shows dealing with racism and a multicultural society. The main question is in what ways do aud ience discussion shows offer a forum for public debate on racism and a multicultural society in the Netherlands! This question is answered b y looking at the numbers of white and ethnic minority participants and the perspectives included in the debates. The article also tries to e stablish the impact of characteristics of the genre on the debates. Th e results indicate that talk shows have some potential for offering un expected, controversial and oppositional perspectives from ethnic mino rity groups.