Self-promotion of TV Stations from a Rhetorical Perspective. Persuasion Techniques

The article focuses on persuasion techniques used by media broadcasters in self-promotional activities. These techniques are a specific way, in which the broadcaster acts in the communication process. Certain elements of this process can be emphasized or modified in order to increase its impact. The starting point of this article was an assumption, that the selection of persuasive techniques is derivatized from such rhetorical determinants, as the context of functioning of the media (ex. the effects of technological changes: the unification of media products, the exponential increase in the amount of information, the increasing global competition). Also, planned target groups and objective of the broadcaster. The research material allows to distinct persuasion techniques implemented at three levels in self-promotional activities of media broadcasters: 1) ways of transmitting the information (ex. repetition and targeting audiences), 2) content (ex. positive selection technique, fragmentation, use of the unavailability rule, displaying the benefits from interacting with the medium, increasing the attractiveness of the communication by referring to broadly respected authorities) and 3) the forms of communication (uniqueness technique).