Measuring the professionalism in prime-time television debate shows: a comparative study of Aaj Tak and R. Bharat

Abstract

This research examines professionalism in prime-time television debate: a comparative study of Aaj Tak and R. Bharat. The media plays a vital role in shaping public opinion and perception. People form their opinion about their surroundings through the media content; especially debate shows create public discourse, so it is important to know how professionally these debates are conducted. Aaj Tak and R. Bharat were selected for this study because these are widely viewed Hindi news channels and known for their aggressive and impactful debate show. The study aims to comparatively analyse the level of professionalism the debate shows of both channels broadcast during shows of both channels broadcast in prime time. The study will focus on only a few indicators of professionalism, like interruption, the anchor's personal opinion, aggressive tone, abusive and offensive language, and expression and sign. This study employed the content analysis method to meet the objectives. The researcher has deeply observed eighteen debate shows broadcast from January to March 2026. Every debate is constantly noticed with dialogue and noted for the interruption, the anchor's personal opinion, the aggressive tone, the abusive language, the offensive language, the offensive expression, and the sign. The finding indicates that both channels compromised the standard of professionalism, as their debate shows a highly contentious characterised by frequent interruption, personal opinion of the anchor and aggressive exchanges. However, R. Bharat has more violations, whereas Aaj Tak maintains a degree of balance.