Television in Politics

In the past forty to fifty years in elections, there has been a rising inspiration from television and media. Ever since the televised news casts and media reports, voters have become increasingly involved in the elections, resulting in more voters and more involved people. Television has heavily impacted the voter's thought and view of the candidate mostly by getting the full aspect of the candidate's party and issues. Due to this overwhelming factor media plays on presidential elections, voter turnout, especially in younger adults, has augmented and with television as a positive role in the elections, there is more interest and availability to it than ever before. Television has become such an impact in elections because of its central revelation of the candidate in televised debates, its accessibility in viewing electoral events, and its impact through news reports.

Though, with the rise of television, presidential candidates have been able to express their issues concerning the presidency, and so have been able to become more well-known. All nominees are now represented, whether it is in a debate, or when in a normal CNN report. Today we rely on such debates to enlighten us on the beliefs of the nominee, persuading the undecided on which to vote. Literary scholar and columnist of The New Yorker, Louis Menand, claims that without these debates, "voters [are] cheated by the omission of some relevant test, some necessary submission to mass scrutiny" ("Masters of the Matrix: Kennedy, Nixon, and the Culture of the Image"). Television has strongly improved the way people react to candidates, because they are able to view them and follow their views. Well-known television analysts of Nielsen Media Research portray the spike in the debate turnout in 1980, simply because someone commonly associated with television and movies, Ronald Regan, was involved in the debate. (Nielsen Tunes into Politics: Tracking the Presidential Election Years (1960-1992)) The media output, which can be released in many ways, has really peaked since the utilization of the television, because it is able to show the candidates true issues and beliefs, which shows the American public who he/she is.

The government has always focused on making issues of the election as easy as possible, with electronic, touch screen voting booths, and easy registration. With the rise of television, elections became so much more accessible, and have made it easier for the voter to choose his/her side on an issue. Media scholar Angus Campbell, in respect to television, believes, "Large segments of the public have been given a new, immediate contact with political events" ("Has Television Reshaped Politics?"). Campbell points out that by making these elections more available, media has created a simple way of showing the presidential electorates to those not so diplomatically educated. Longtime journalist and newscaster Ted Koppel expresses that the docking down of such newscasts creates a situation that many can understand, so that more people become involved. Koppel asserts that by doing this "[Television is] producing nothing but cotton candy for the mind." The Nightline program, which he anchors, opens up to all the candidates, so that the public can decide their own president, not limiting to the front-runners. (Private Thoughts Made Public) With the increased accessibility of television, the view and image of the electorate is restored and so, makes the election fairer and easier to focus upon, as all candidates may be represented, rather than the one who happens to speak in one's town.

The media is always the first to inform us on the condition