Blog post #8

http://talkshows.about.com/od/morningshows/p/TalkIsntCheap.htm

This site gives a brief description of where the talk show started and why theyre so popular. Television talk shows have been around since the dawn of the medium, crossing over like so many shows from its origins on radio. Thus, the start of talk shows' golden age can be considered in 1948, even though the television wasn't common in American homes until the 1950s. From 1949 to 1973, nearly half of all daytime programming on the three networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC) was talk.

Profit has a big part in why they are everlasting.
Because, contrary to the catchy headline, talk is cheap. A talk show can cost less than $100,000 per episode to produce whereas many of today's dramas cost more than $1 million an episode. Thus, if successful, it can produce bountiful profits.

http://www.museum.tv/eotv/talkshows.htm

talks more about the literal history behind it; where and when it started;
The talk show did not originate over night, at one time, or in one place. It developed out of forty years of television practice and antecedent talk traditions from radio, 

A "talk show," on the other hand, is as a show that is quite clearly and self-consciously built around its talk. To remain on the air a talk show must adhere to strict time and money constraints, allowing time, for instance, for the advertising spots that must appear throughout the show. The talk show must begin and end within these rigid time limits and, playing to an audience of millions, be sensitive to topics that will interest that mass audience. 

http://www.ellenhume.com/node/22

This author utilizes the comparison between radio and TV to state the growth and developement of TV talkshows.

During the 1920s, the radio networks had an estimated 21 "talk" programs, including public affairs, religion, and housekeeping. Hosts generally appeared as experts, educating their audiences.