In 1952 , a pol face with a potential outrage made what must have seemed like a radical decision . He decide to address the country – ontelevision . That politician , Richard Nixon , was n’t running forpresidentyet . Nixon ’s address was a Hail Mary attempt to keep his patch on the Republican slate with candidate Dwight Eisenhower in the wake of a major scandal . Having been accused of misusingcampaign fundsto plump his salary , Nixon looked directly into the eye of the American populace and told them he ’d never take over a natural endowment . sit around next to his wife , and order a heartwarming fib about a dog named Checkers that a supporter had yield to his baby , Nixon won the TV audience over . Later that year , he and Eisenhower won the presidential election . Nixon would have his own problems with TV later on , but the Checkers speech secured the future of his political career and marked a modification in the manner American politician would campaign go bad forward [ source : Donovan ] .
Believe it or not , there was a time in American political sympathies when it was seen as rough-cut for presidential candidates ( peculiarly officeholder ) to campaign . They might make some public address at campaign rallies , but for the most part they left the campaigning to the political party and their staffs [ origin : CNN All Politics ] . With the rise of boob tube , campaigns were driven more and more by the campaigner themselves . But that ’s only the origin of telecasting ’s transmutation of the American presidential election . take on to find out how the " idiot box " change the way leaders are chosen .
5: The Dominance of Media Consultants in Presidential Campaigns
In the early days of mass media , TV , newspapersandradiowere used as tools by presidential safari . The candidate needed to invoke to the world , so they would use the media to do it . Today , the good deal media is not just a substance to an ending , but one of the most important factor in determining whether a candidate for president wins or loses the election . Thanks to the 24 - 60 minutes intelligence cps and the grandness of carefully manage a candidate ’s image , medium expert have involve a dominant role in shaping presidential campaigns [ source : Kaid ] .
The part of the media advisor is to hold in the way the populace go steady the candidate ’s image . They ensure that the nominee does n’t do anything to damage that persona in interviews , atnews conferencesor during live speeches . Richard Nixon start out the first White House Office of Communications in 1968 , and pioneered the media savvy campaign strategy . Nixon was heedful to bound unscripted public press conferences or one - on - one interviews , and instead opt inclined speeches that get him stay in ascendance , without hinderance from reporters [ author : Foote ] . In Ronald Reagan ’s two election campaigns , his advisor cautiously managed his persona by stag photo chance that distinguish the story they want . For object lesson , feature Reagan photographed sitting on a tractor made him seem like an approachable friend to the working class [ author : Foote ] . Today , most presidential effort take this micromanaging approach to media relative .
4: The Introduction of Campaign Ads
When an election year rolls around , you could always count on learn a flood of politically themed commercials . Political ads have become a huge part of campaigns . From home , to state and local election , 50 to 75 per centum of acampaign ’s fundsare typically expend on advert product and tune clock time [ informant : Kaid ] .
advertising are effective because they can accomplish multitude who are n’t usually interested in say campaign coverage , attending rallies or watch the newsworthiness . Campaigns grease one’s palms up time during pop programme so they can catch these possible voter off safety . And it works . Research has shown that voters pay more tending to political spots and advertizement to learn about the issues of a political wash , compared to other news reservoir [ reference : Dover ] . Some might see that as a sign that people are becoming more unlearned , but political advertizement are not necessarily misleading ; they are actually more probable to engage specific yield and candidates ' records than news broadcast , which focus more on candidates ' personality [ source : Dover ] .
One of the first presidential campaigner to learn the power ofTVads was Dwight Eisenhower . He hired Rosser Reeves , a Madison Avenue ad White House who had produce a popular campaign for M&M ’s , to contrive ads for his 1952 run . Using jingles and slogans including " I like Ike , " the ads paint the nominee as a friendly and personable leader . popular candidate Adlai Stevenson refuse to use advert , and instead chose to buy up blocks of internet time to present speeches . After being rebuke in the 1952 election , Stevenson returned in the ' 56 election for a rematch with Eisenhower – this time , with political ads [ source : NPR ] .
3: The Increased Importance of Debates
If election Nox coverage is the Super Bowl of the presidential election season , then televised debates are the playoffs . But political news freak might be surprised to con that debates have not always been a main upshot in national elections . In fact , before the introduction ofTV , presidential debatesweren’t very common [ source : PBS ] .
The most famous pre - television campaign argument in the United States were in 1858 between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas , who were running for Illinois senator , not president [ rootage : PBS ] . In 1940 , Republican contender Wendell Wilkie challenged incumbent President Franklin Roosevelt to debate the issues . Debates were so unheard of at the time , Roosevelt brush aside Wilkie ’s postulation , and the media accused the Republican of trying to present a promotion stunt [ source : PBS ] . It ’s hard to imagine a mod president refusing to debate an election challenger by call them an attention hog .
Today , debates provide good opportunities for candidates to reach large audiences with their approximation and position on the emergence . A public debate may not gain ground or lose an election , but it can change a campaign ’s impulse , triggering a sudden drop or gain in the poll . Independent nominee Ross Perot was able-bodied to save some of his support in the 1992 election after doing well in the debates , despite having light drastically in the polls in the previous months [ beginning : Kraus ] . In the 1976 election , President Gerald Ford made a gaffe in a disputation with Jimmy Carter , take that the Soviet Union did not lodge in Eastern Europe . While a absolute majority of viewers thought Ford won the debate , after newscasts focused on the mistake , financial backing for Ford dipped [ seed : CNN All Politics ] .
2: More Stress on Personality and Image
Personality and icon have always been influential in presidential elections . FDR was extremely popular , for the most part because of his intimate " fireside chats , " regularradioaddresses that give way the American multitude the impression that he was a well-disposed , fatherly drawing card [ source : Foote ] . No doubt that image helped win him three more elections . Televisionnews reporting has only increased the focus on double and personality in campaigns . Instead of focus on result and policy , news programs incline to center around the personal dramatic event , the " who ’s advance , who ’s lose " aspect of the campaign , a propensity analysts call " sawhorse race " coverage [ germ : Dover ] .
On TV , images and symbols matter . One big minute can ruin a campaign . Just ask Howard Dean . He was the Democratic frontrunner in the 2000 primaries until an badly - clock " yalp " at an Iowa campaign rally made viewers question his stability [ source : Roberts ] . Ed Muskie , another primary frontrunner , torpedoed his 1972 political campaign when he shed tear on camera [ reservoir : Kaid ] . On the other hired man , Ronald Reagan , " the great communicator , " was able to construct his presidential succeeder largely on his folksy , upbeat TV personality [ origin : Smoller ] .
Candidates today also control their figure on telly programming other than tidings , specially later night talk show . consort to a 2004 sketch , more than 60 percent of Americans under 30 see something about current events from a belated night comedy show before they see it anywhere else [ author : Farnsworth ] . Bill Clinton open up this strategy , playing his saxophone on The Arsenio Hall Show and hold on MTV that he wear legal brief , not boxers [ sources : Zurawik , Hart ] . John McCain learned the difficult way about the office of former Nox in 2008 . After David Letterman spit him for cancelling his appearance on the comedian ’s show , McCain ’s plan to " set aside " his campaign to treat the country ’s financial crisis got a good drubbing from the newsworthiness media [ origin : Patterson ] .
1: A Longer Election Cycle
Beforetelevision , the presidential election bicycle was relatively brief . Campaigning would take place between the conventions ( in the summer ) and the election ( that November ) . primary election were held , but candidate would n’t run full - fledge safari to pull ahead support . rather , each province ’s party would transmit delegates to the national convention without consulting the public . At the conventionality , the delegate vote on the prospect they need to represent the political party [ generator : Dover ] .
That all begin to change in 1952 , when the nationalparty conventionswere first televised . The mentation was that covering the pattern would give the public a window into the elbow room the political party made decisions . Few probably expected that the reverse would happen – that the coverage would move the parties to convert the way they run conventions [ informant : Kaid ] . run up to the television camera , normal became a locus for party leader and rising stars to make speeches , not station where genuine decision were made . Today , the convening is mostly an chance for the nominee to stage secure first to the ecumenical election drive . The ballot that occupy place at the conventions is mostly ceremonial [ source : Dover ] .
As the conventions have become less significant , the primary election have become more significant . The word reporting of the hunting expedition begins one , even two years before the first elemental election is held , and two to three eld before the general election . This has become especially enunciate as the 24 - 60 minutes news networks have rise in popularity and have huge amounts of gentle wind time to fill . For good example , as early as the summer of 2009 , pollsters were already test the waters for which candidates might win the election in 2012 [ source : Rasmussen Reports ] .
