"This report focuses on the role of factual debate and discussion programming, defined for the purposes of this review as “dialogic formats”, on political participation, knowledge and efficacy [...] The review of the existing evidence base is followed by an in-depth look at the relationship betw ... een exposure to one of BBC Media Action’s own debate programme formats and political participation. Factual debate and discussion programme formats have been implemented in a number of countries in which BBC Media Action has worked in recent years. This paper presents data from Nepal, where the political debate programme Sajha Sawal (Common Questions) has been broadcast nationally on radio and television for more than five years. The analysis provides evidence that exposure to a debate programme on the radio – which fulfils a mediated deliberation function – is positively associated with both latent and manifest forms of political participation. While it is not inferred that there is a causal relationship between the media output and political outcomes, the evidence presented goes some way to adding to the body of evidence of the impact dialogic programme formats have on interpersonal political discussion and more manifest types of participation in a developing country context, even when controlling for demographic factors and other personal characteristics." (Executive summary) more

"The review found that there is evidence that exposure to dialogic formats can have an impact on political participation. It is clear, however, that the relationship between exposure to programming and manifest forms of participation cannot be studied in isolation to other important outcomes such as ... knowledge, efficacy and most especially interpersonal discussion. Studies show that exposure to dialogic formats can increase both the effectiveness and intensity of interpersonal discussion, which in turn is found to be associated with more goal-oriented forms of participation such as intention to vote and participation in public forums. Likewise, knowledge is strongly associated with both manifest and political forms of participation, and so has the potential to play a mediating role in the relationship between exposure and increased participation." (Executive summary) more