Politicization of television talk shows: an analytical study of Allewan program

Abstract

This study aims to investigate how television talk shows are politically employed, especially in times of political conflict between Qatar on one side and Saudi Arabia on the other. Its focus is on AlLewan program that was broadcast on Rotana Khalejia channel during Ramadan 2019. The program includes 29 episodes. The study finds that Alshawa [the awakening] Movement, Qatar, the Saudi opposition, and the Muslim Brotherhood are the top issues addressed in the program. Main actors of the discourse in the program include Osama bin Laden, Saudi opposed Saad Al-Faqih and Mohammed Almasa’ari, and the Saudi crown prince. The most emotionally loaded words and phrases are used to construct a call for facing the state, to ascertain the domination of Allah, and to impose awakening guardianship on the society. The program uses a number of communication strategies and techniques, including communication process strategy, confrontation and accusation, and the showing of clips from previous videos. The program applies several argumentative tools related to the Alshawa, Muslim Brotherhood, Qatar, Islamic cassette tape, the Saudi Crown Prince. These tools include the narrative technique, the use of historical narratives, citations from Qur'anic verses as well as hadiths and prophetic biography.