Xarabank and attitudes : the producers have their say : a qualitative study

Abstract

Xarabank, the popular talkshow aired every Friday evening after the eight o'clock news, has become synonymous with Friday television viewing. Xarabank boasts an average audience of 130,000 viewers every Friday. It is the programme where everybody is welcome to voice his/her views. The aim of this research was to explore the relationship between Xarabank and public attitudes. The research question was investigated from the producers' point of view. Thematic analysis was the method used to analyze the data generated from the interviews with the producers. The findings reveal that the producers' general explicit intentions are those of maintaining viewership record, of informing and educating the public and of being a means of entertainment. While in some programmes there is no overt intention of changing attitudes, in other programmes dealing with issues such as sexual abuse or organ donation, the producers actively try to create and reinforce attitudes which they deem appropriate. Furthermore, much of the procedures which the production team follows are in line with the persuasion literature. In general, the producers give a lot of importance to first-hand experience, do not draw explicit conclusions, go to great lengths to present all sides of an argument and make sure the programme is interesting and relevant to everybody.