Media Framing of Jordanian Legislative Performance in Television Talk Shows

Talk shows have a vital role in framing legislative issues to influence public attitudes, in a way that serves and achieves the interests of those in charge of these talk shows. The coverage of the talk show Voice of the Kingdom during the second regular session of the National Assembly reveals the spotlight on the performance of the legislative authority, which is the basis for approving, rejecting, or amending laws in Jordan. It also highlights the way talk shows address the performance of the legislative authority in exercising its legislative and oversight role and analyzes the elements on which these talk shows rely in framing legislative issues, as these treatments reflect the public’s interpretations and priorities towards the performance of the legislative authority. To achieve these objectives, the media content analysis approach was used to analyze the media frames of 37 episodes of the Voice of the Kingdom talk show during the second regular session of the 19th National Assembly, which extended from 13 November 2022 to 7 May 2023. This article reveals that the Voice of the Kingdom talk show framed the performance of the legislative authority within the framework of economic results, responsibility, and human interests. The methods of treatment were characterized by the analytical approach, while it relied on rational persuasion methods in treating the performance of the legislative authority. The results concluded that the process of framing the Voice of the Kingdom talk show for the performance of the legislative authority acquires its characteristics from the nature of the television channel’s orientations, the vision of the talk show makers, and the goals they seek to achieve, which gives the communicator an influential role in framing legislative performance.