Spectacularization strategies in the TV political talk shows. The case of the Barcelona local election campaign (2015)

Political talk shows -called "tertulias" (media gatherings) in Spain-Are a dialogical opinion genre without a clear codification. Their wide-ranging presence and large audiences in the Spanish media system are the reason for the central role of this type of programming in radio and television. These political media gatherings allow for a flexible political discourse process. However, the selection of "opinion-makers" shows a "false" internal plurality that facilitates the spectacularization of political content through the political personification and dramatization of personal anecdotes which heighten the emotional register. In this article two daily regional TV political talk shows -one public (Televisió de Catalunya, TV3) and one private (8TV)-And one public local broadcaster (Barcelona Televisió, BTV) are analyzed to detect elements of spectacularization from the campaigns of Barcelona's local elections (2015).