I resent the blatant condescension and snobbery in discussion of this format even by established TV critics. Television is our best window into the popular mind. As a steady watcher of daytime talk shows since Phil Donahue's pioneering program went national in the mid-1970s, I resent the blatant condescension and snobbery in discussion of this format even by established TV critics.
Television is our best window into the popular mind.
Conservatives understandably try to control or combat the pagan mass media, with their boisterous sexual sensationalism. Talk shows have been one of the major liberalizing forces in contemporary culture. Phil Donahue did more to win acceptance of gays in middle America than the entire gay activist establishment, which mistakenly believes that toleration can be achieved by legislative intrusion and governmental oversight.