Abstract

In the digital media era, television presenters face increasing pressure to maintain a consistent public image amid high visibility and continuous surveillance. This study introduces and develops the concept of the media façade as a psycho-social construct that enables television presenters to fulfill the expectations of both the public and their workplace, while protecting their internal identities. Drawing on four theoretical frameworks, including: Goffman’s (1959) self-presentation theory, Freud (1926) and Lacan’s (1977) ego defense mechanisms, Hochschild’s (1983) concept of emotional labor, and Wardle and Derakhshan’s (2017) framework of information disorder, the study uses qualitative exploratory approach via in-depth interviews with six professional television presenters in Vietnam. Results show five key aspects: (1) public persona as strategic use of identity performance; (2) media façade as a symbolic ego-defense mechanism; (3) maintenance of an idealized public image entails a pyschological cost for television presenters; (4) the presence of audience segregation and platform-specific image management; and (5) raising reflexive awareness for television presenters as a requirement to meet media façade demands. The findings suggest that media façade functions as more than a communicative tool, as it is also a mechanism for emotional regulation under perpetual public scrutiny. This research offers an interdisciplinary framework for understanding identity performance and provides insights applicable to other high-visibility professions such as television presenting.