ABSTRACT
As Sally Jessy Raphael watched the final night of the 1992 Democratic National Convention, she felt a“shock of recognition”. By the presidential election of 1992, the pseudo-self-realization and mock therapy of the talk shows had become fully incorporated into political discourse. The language of talk-show trust further obscures the reasons for the lack of political representation. The most significant result of the talk-show debate was that, for a brief time during the 1992 presidential election, the potential of the talk-show format was met: The public engaged in a participatory discussion with public officials, asking substantive questions that forced the politicians to answer in specific policy terms. Presidential candidate Bill Clinton well understood the therapeutic style and testimonial format of the talk show. Long-time media analyst and practitioner Tony Schwartz first articulated the communication principle of “resonance.” During the 1992 election, resonance with media narratives and formats became the effective strategy for the design of persuasive political discourse.
