Talk show ideas
Talk shows have been an American staple practically since the development of television and radio. Informative, entertaining, and sometimes confrontational, talk shows usually feature a host engaging in informal discussion with a guest, and are watched or listened to by millions of people everyday. Many people start their early morning with a talk show, and many people crawl into bed and end their day with a late night talk show. Everything from relationships, to politics, to food, art, travel, and interviews with the rich and famous appear as the focus of talk shows. Frequently, a myriad of topics are discussed on a single talk show everyday. This begs the question: where do talk shows get their ideas?
A talk show's goal, regardless of what the topics are or who the host is interviewing, is to present "talk" relevant to the time, even minute. One popular morning talk show has been known to revise their topics minutes before airing on T.V. because more relevant stories arose for discussion. In fact, even if a talk show is pre-recorded, it must be presented in a manner that causes the viewer or listener to have a feeling of "This is live and relevant" freshness.
Every talk show has a person or group of people whose responsibility is to generate ideas, topics, themes, and guests for the show. This is usually the producer.
There are basically two groups that talk show producers select topics from:
- Relevant news, trends, and topics;
- The viewer or listener.
Ideas from News and Trends
Talk show topics and ideas arise frequently from world conditions and news. For example, during a period of war, talk show hosts will want to interview persons of political influence, allowing the viewer or listener to experience discussion that draws out more angles, personal opinion, and perhaps even hot-tempered debates.
Published studies regarding health, food, and exercise frequently become the topic of a talk show, perhaps with humorous results. Viruses, global warming, elections, health debates, and hurricanes are all news items that have the potential to form the theme of a talk show and indicate the type of talk show guest.
Trends in books, movies, food, and especially fashion are popular sources of talk show fodder. A talk show may be dedicated entirely to the season's style forecast.
Actors, actresses, authors, and musical performers are regular talk show fixtures. Usually, their presence on a talk show coincides with a recent piece of news or event that has put them in the national spotlight. An author who has recently written a best-selling novel will be more likely make a talk show appearance than an author who, although perhaps still popular, has not published a book in several years.
Ideas from Viewers or Listeners
Believe it or not, a vast majority of talk show topics, themes, and ideas stem from their viewers or listeners. Unlike trying to sell an idea for a television sitcom or drama, presenting an idea for a talk show is quite easy to do.
Almost every single talk show website has a section devoted to the submission of ideas or stories. Producers regularly make human interest stories customary parts of a talk show. Usually, talk shows are looking for:
- A person with a unique, outrageous, or amazing ability or hobby;
- A pet who with a unique or amazing ability or trick;
- A child with a unique or amazing talent, hobby, ability, or collection;
- Unusual or humorous videos or outtakes from life or television;
Additionally, talk shows regularly encourage or search for viewers to send in something relevant to the theme of a show, such as video footage, photographs, or inventions.
Depending on the type of talk show, producers look for human interest stories with a positive ending, or a tragic and/or outrageous ending. Certain types of talk shows actively search for guests to take part in their themed show discussions. These types of talk shows introduce a theme for the show frequently designed to be outrageous or confrontational, and allow the audience to pose questions to the guests.
Some talk shows allow you to send in information regarding a loved-one's major birthday milestone, and the host will announce the birthday on the air. Others encourage you to send in letters which are read on the talk show and discussed.
If you don't necessarily wish to be part of a talk show, you can submit your ideas for a show to the talk show via their website. Talk show producers regularly rely on such ideas, and may choose yours for their talk show.
