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TV talk show losing its flavor

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-03-06 07:42

Last year marked a remarkable boost for TV talk shows, in the absence of various reality programs. But the other side of the coin is they are not well received by audiences. The following comment is an excerpt from China Youth Daily:

The same guests, usually pop stars or celebrities, are invited to different talk shows and talk more or less about the same thing. This may explain why the trump card used by quite a few of China's TV stations is losing its appeal.

But some critics point out that the saturation of this TV genre is merely one reason talk show programs are losing viewers. The biggest weakness behind the scene is a lack of creativity and plain programming. And the charm of the talk show hosts or hostesses- or lack of - is another reason that cannot be ignored.

Although some TV hostesses are dubbed "China's Oprah Winfrey" and many others imitate the style of the household American name, the gap between them and their idol is wide.

(China Daily 03/06/2009 page9)