TV talk Shows and Their Mechanism in the Media Systems of Iran and US: Analysis of Exigencies, Necessities and Requirements

Talk shows with their variety, are among prevalent and popular TV genres. While enjoying general principles, they are different in quality and approach to the rules and content in proportion to the media system they belong to. The US media system with a liberalistic foundation and the Iranian media system with a religious (Islamic) groundwork, each have their specific exigencies and implications in their planning with respect to talk show oriented programs. While explaining the philosophy of the talk-show oriented programs and their principles, this paper reviews these two systems and the exigencies of talk-show oriented programs in proportion with them. In the end by analyzing the monotheistic foundations of the Islamic media system, it has briefly enumerated the general necessities of talk show oriented programs in the Islamic Republic television. The result indicates that utilitarianism and entertainment orientation are the basic characteristics of talk show programs in U.S. media system with liberalistic basis. On the opposite side, due to existence of state-run media in Iran and control systems stemmed from Islamic monotheistic principles, supervision and control over content of these programs especially from moral and ideological points of view are carried out more precisely. Reviewing monotheistic principles, it can be said that the idealistic approach of talk shows is realism versus utilitarianism, trade and mere entertainment.