Tuning in trouble

Television talk shows entertain their enormous viewing audience with a steady stream of wounded guests, self-serving gurus, and manipulative hosts who offer quick and easy solutions to complex problems. Tuning in Trouble reveals the harmful and destructive impact these phenomenally popular TV talk shows have on the guests and on us all, their millions of viewers. By sensationalizing issues, staging brutal and traumatic confrontations, exploiting stereotypes of women, men, and minorities, then alleging that intense ten-minute psychodramas actually help people, these shows create a totally distorted view of our real-life problems and how to solve them. In fact, TV talk shows make a mockery of the mental health profession by obscuring the fact that change and recovery are most often a long and painful process. Can television talk shows be redirected to fulfill their potential as a forum for responsible communication? Heaton and Wilson offer specific guidelines and recommendations for hosts, producers, mental health professionals, and viewers that can dramatically improve the quality and positive public impact of TV talk shows.