Abstract: The article is a methodological proposal referring to the study of pre-election TV debates. Its aim is to draw attention to formative and meaning-oriented properties of temporal categories in shaping / studying media discourse. Three temporal categories were identified: the time related to the situation of the debate as a genre with specific communicative functions; the time of rhetorical strategies used by the actors participating in the debate; and the time of direct interaction between the actors. Finally, the elements shaping the temporal orders of particular categories were discussed.
Keywords: rhetoric of time, final pre-election debates, media discourse, election campaign, electoral strategies.
Rhetoric and Communications E-journal, Issue 19, October 2015, rhetoric.bg/, journal.rhetoric.bg, ISSN 1314-4464