Audience Reception Ofshai Buna Talk Show

The talk shows as a media genre emerged in the western media around the 1960s. But inrnEthiopia, this genre has been on air since 1999. There are now four talk shows aired on thernnational television, ETV, and their number is increasing. Since the talk show is a new genrernintroduced to Ethiopian audiences it is essential to know what the genre is accomplishing inrnthe society and what the audiences’ reception is.rnThis study is conducted to find out how audiences of ‘Shai Buna’ talk show understand the talkrnshow and the factors that account for their reception. Active audience theory was used as arnframework to conduct the research. Audiences do not simply accept a message. They have thernability to accept or oppose a message.rnQualitative research methods, specifically focus group interview and individual in-depthrninterview were used to undertake this study The sample was categorized into: occupation, genderrnand age.rnGenerally, most of the respondents agreed that the show is about Ethiopian problems and theirrnsolutions. Respondents regardless of their differences seemed to understand the talk showrnsimilarly.rnThe results of the study revealed that live contexts play a major role in interpreting messages.rnRespondents make meaning depending on what is relevant to their daily life. Occupation, genderrnand age are among the factors which shape interpretations.rnHowever, there can be a complete understanding of the intended message by some respondentsrndepending on the similarity of opinions that both the producer and receiver of the message havernon specific points of discussion.rnThough it can not be generalized, one factor alone can contribute to help in meaning making as itrnwas found out with respondents with one similar factor in their lived context the other factor thatrnis not the same among them can be a factor for differences of meaning.

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