The Development of Television - Essay Example

? Television and Politics Television and Politics The development of television as the modern medium was consequently followed bythe decline in the use of radio. This marked a significant change in the nature of conducting political campaigns while at the same time, it gave politicians an opportunity to relay their agendas directly to the people. In the 1960 election, there was a televised debate between Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy (Lawrence, 1960). Notably, it was the basic of most of the decisions that were made regarding the presidency of that year. Nixon did not wear make up for the television appearance thus he presented himself without grooming, and under the bright camera lights, he appeared to be tired and sweaty. Kennedy, on the other hand, wore some make up and as a result, the lights favored him as he seemed cooler as well as more collected than Nixon. In this paper, I will look at ways in which television revolutionized politics and how it ushered in a new political environment since the presidential debate between Kennedy and Nixon. For the individuals who watched the debate on TV, most of them believed that Kennedy came out the victor of the debate. This was mainly attributed to the way he presented himself. People tend to pay more attention to someone who presents himself as a neat and orderly person than to an unconditioned and shabby looking person especially if he is vying for the presidency. For those who listened to the radio, Nixon won the debate because of his deep and strong radio appealing voice. This debate was historical not only because it was televised but also because before the debate Nixon was the favorite candidate but after the debate, everything changed. Kennedy was elected president thanks to his captivating performance in the televised debates (Philips, 1960). As a new medium, television changed presidential elections as radio voice was no longer convincing enough as compared to television campaigns. From this moment on, politics underwent significant revolutionary changes as television became central to shaping the political landscape. Elected officials and qualified candidates vying for office began using television as a way of speaking directly to the electorate in the 20th century. Producers and network executives used this opportunity to introduce programs in which they host politicians in their bid to win over millions of people. This has led to a generation of sound bite shows, talk shows and massive political news coverage on television. Notably, political spending has immensely increased with a lot of it spent on advertising campaign aired on television. It, therefore, goes without saying that television plays a pivotal role in politics as a general sector, as well as individual political careers. The introduction of television into the political scene was a timely feature as it changed the packaging of political news. The way politicians look as they deliver their political message is very important since no one would want to repeat Nixon's mistake. The image they display on the screens as they convince people about their agenda is central to attracting and maintaining the attention of the viewers (Lang and Lang, 2002). Most of the politicians spend their time searching for funding for their campaigns. Clearly, their success in elections depend their ability to pay for airplay for their commercials on television because they use it to advertise their virtues as well as their agendas to the electorate. However, the cost of these advertisements has become so high that it determines the success or failure of a candidate. According to Hewitt (2000), the involvement of television, and politics was the result of that memorable debate between Kennedy and Nixon in 1960. That was the moment legislators realized that television could make one's political career a success. Television moguls were also not left behind as they saw an opportunity to make a lot of money from political advertisements. Ever since television could be used in politics, every election year reminds Americans of the way money corrupts politics of the day. In the present, money has become the determining factor of those who can afford to buy influential television time and those who cannot. Just as Hewitt puts it, the scramble for television time began on the day of the presidential debate between Kennedy and Nixon. It may cost one as much as a billion US dollars to run for president and it is even harder for the congress seats because an ordinary person cannot afford the multimillions needed for the seat. Most of this money goes into buying the expensive television airplay for commercials to sell the policies of the candidates as well as the candidates themselves. Acquiring funding for political advertisement on television became the trend in the political environment of the 20th century. Despite the fact that talk radio was the first medium to be used in a new and developing mediated political communication, the introduction of television into the scene brought about a new political environment. Most of the political campaign tactics relied on television medium as advertisements and commercial became a common feature of airplay. The frequency of political candidates showing up on entertainment talk shows significantly increased. Some people saw this as the degradation of the normally uptight electoral process as they termed it the “entertainmmentation” of politics (2000). However, as time goes by, people have come to recognize the power of political programming. This is because they get an opportunity to see how politicians present themselves to the people. To some extent, political television time conveys a measure of truth, sincerity and realness that candidates fail to express in written or radio media. It is interesting how the political personalities are not complaining about the loss of credibility that results from the changed political culture. In fact, they are accepting it, contributing to it, and even trying to exploit it. This is evident in the way they canvas for funds from potential sponsors just to afford television time. America has experienced a substantial change in political communication as politics is now a central part of entertainment television programming. The technological developments in electronic communication have made television accessible to almost all Americans. This makes television the most adequate media for politicians to use for their campaigns since they know that their message will reach the intended audience (Lang and Lang, 2002). The trends that had already been set in motion by talk radio and print media are nothing compared to coverage of politics on television. Television is intended to create interest and to satisfy via the use of real life images that lighten the attention of the viewer while at the same time keeping them at ease and relatively indifferent to satisfaction. However, print media is predictable as it lacks a more reflective relationship with content. This makes television the most preferred medium for political engagement as it seems to deliver in terms of numbers (Sheperd, 1960). Since politics is more inclined to winning than to satisfying readers, politicians tend to do anything that brings in the numbers and nothing can do it better than television. The same messages can be played several times on the television and people will still watch it but they cannot read the same message over and over again on print. Additionally, seeing a politician selling his policies on television is much better that listening to his voice on talk radio. It is clear that television revolutionized politics and introduced a new political environment since the presidential debate between Kennedy and Nixon. This presidential debate was the turning point of American politics from the reserved nature to a more profound and strong exhibition. Ever since that day, politicians as well as the public realized that the image displayed on television can have a significant impact on potential voters. Media moguls also realized that there was a lot of potential in political advertising in terms of making money. Before television, political advertising was affordable and was as simple as narrating a message over the talk radio of posting it on print media. All this changed with the introduction of television as image became the point of attention. Politicians had to groom well, make up themselves, wear nice suits, just to make sure that they were presentable enough to appeal to the electorate. Money also became an integral part of one's political career as advertising was a very expensive idea. All in all, television brought great changes in the political arena and the present technological developments have made it easier for people to embrace these changes. References Hewitt, Don. Oral History. By Diatch Vicki. Excerpt, 2000. Lawrence, W. “Neither Nominee Claims a Triumph: Both are Satisfied with TV Debate and feel Voters will Render Decision.” New York Times, Sep. 27, 1960. Lang, Kurt, and Lang Gladys. Television and Politics. Piscataway: Transaction Publishers, 2002 Philips, Cabell. “About The Elections: A Second Look,” New York Times, Nov. 20, 1960. Shepard, Richard. “73,500,000 Viewers Estimated to Have Seen Television Debate,” New York Times, Sep. 28, 1960. Read More