Title: 15.7 Media Influence on Laws and Government – Understanding Media and Culture
Headings: 15.7 Media Influence on Laws and Government
15.7 Media Influence on Laws and Government
Learning Objectives
Politics, Broadcast Media, and the Internet
Radio
Television
Nixon–Kennedy Debates of 1960
War and Television
Political News Programming
Online News and Politics
Key Takeaways
Exercises
End-of-Chapter Assessment
Critical Thinking Questions
Career Connection
References

Content: This dynamic changed politics. Suddenly, candidates and elected officials had to be able to effectively communicate their messages to a large audience. “ Radio brought politicians into people’s homes, and many politicians went to learn effective public-speaking for radio broadcasts (ThinkQuest).” Television
Today, television remains Americans’ chief source of political news, a relationship that dates back almost to the very beginning of the medium. Political candidates began using TV commercials to speak directly to the public as early as 1952. These “living room candidates,” as they are often called, understood the power of the television screen and the importance of reaching viewers at home. In 1952, Dwight D. Eisenhower became the first candidate to harness television’s popularity. Eisenhower stepped onto the television screen “when Madison Avenue advertising executive Rosser Reeves convinced [him] that short ads played during such popular TV programs as I Love Lucy would reach more voters than any other form of advertising. This innovation had a permanent effect on the way presidential campaigns are run (Living Room Candidate).” Nixon–Kennedy Debates of 1960
The relationship between politics and television took a massive step forward in 1960 with a series of four televised “Great Debates” between presidential candidates John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon.