Tabloid talk shows are a genre of American
television programming talk shows that achieved peak viewership during the late 20th century. Airing mostly during the day and distributed mostly through
broadcast syndication, this genre originated with
The Phil Donahue Show and was popularized by the personal confession-filled
The Oprah Winfrey Show. Tabloid talk shows have sometimes been described as the "freak shows" of the late 20th century since most of their guests were outside the mainstream. The host invites a group of guests to discuss an emotional or provocative topic—ranging from marital infidelity to more outlandish topics—and the guests are encouraged to make public confessions and resolve their problems with on-camera "group therapy". Similar shows are popular throughout Europe.
The genre is sometimes described using the
pejorative slang term "
Trash TV", particularly when the show hosts appear to purposely design their shows to create controversy or confrontation, as in the case of
Geraldo (a 1988 show in which klansmen, anti-racist skinheads and
Jewish activists were invited led to an on-camera brawl) and
The Jerry Springer Show, which focused on lurid
trysts - often between family members. While sociologist Vicki Abt criticized tabloid TV shows, claiming that they are blurring the lines between normal and deviant behavior,
Yale sociology...
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