The mediated conversational floor: An interactive approach to audience reception analysis

Audience studies, as they have been traditionally associated with cultural studies, have recognized relations of power at each end of the communication process, privileging the framework of 'text-reader' relations. This article offers an alternative method of reception analysis which seeks to overcome text/reader/context distinctions and place the communicative 'act' itself at the centre. It argues that broadcasting needs to be understood within the terms of communication per se with specific tools designed for that dedicated purpose. A model for reception analysis is offered which captures the specifically communicative relationship between daytime talk programmes and viewers by using a 'text-in-action' approach. The findings illuminate the viewing experiences as pragmatically negotiated discursive encounters, establishing the possibility of a 'mediated conversational floor'.