Take a position that defends, challenges, or qualifies the claim that television has had a positive impact on presidential elections.

Technology has changed our lives in more ways than we can possibly write down. It has changed our lives more than we have even realized. The biggest impact that technology has had on the power of the presidency is the way the information spreads. Social media sites have made politics more accessible for many Americans to voice their own thoughts, whether negative or positive. The internet has had an huge impact on the presidential campaigns as well. The social networking sites have always played a powerful role in politics. The candidates can use social media sites as an advantage in order to speak to their voters by direct message. Social media tools including Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and the television have dramatically changed how political campaigns are run and how Americans react to election offices.

For example, the television impacted the Civil Rights Movement by publicizing strikes and marches. More specifically, the March on Washington caused millions of Americans to become more aware of the injustices due to the live broadcasts. Also, television was a major factor in the outcome of the presidency. Presidents were able to use television to their advantage by slandering the other president nominees and improve their campaign status. One of the first examples of this technique was when President Richard Nixon broadcasted his “Checkers” Speech. This speech that was viewed by 60 million Americans and single-handedly changed the the outcome of the presidency by swaying voters his

The first TV was created in 1927 by Philo Taylor Francisco, a regular man from Utah. It only had one channel until 1936. Today the television has thousands of channels broadcasted 27/7. When first created, seeing one was rare, and you were lucky to own one, today it is hard to leave the house and not see one. This can affect a person negatively or positively. Using a publically involved example like an election, the tv can be a great thing to pay attention to, because it provides information about the two opposing candidates, it provides current polls and how each candidate is doing, and it also shows how the people are handling it and their opinions.

Television in today’s world is vital for more than one type of situation. These situations can be an addition to entertainment, news, as well as politics. This combination, though, can have its faults as well as benefits. Television channels are owned by different brands of people such as democrats, republicans, and more. Media in politics can become biased based on the channels being viewed, or the commercials being distributed into the public. Due to this, television has made the presidential elections more unfair than just. As television introduces the image of the presidential candidates rather than their told plans and goals, we can gain a better understanding on their personal image rather than the principal of their reason for presidency.

Television has been influential in United States presidential elections since the 1960’s. But just what is this influence, and how has it affected who is elected? Has it made elections fairer and more accessible, or has it moved candidates from pursuing issues to pursuing image? The media only impacts the American Society, especially for the presidential election as it increases the talks in politics and gives the president a higher role to follow. The television race captures more popularity than what a citizen is actually voting for.

By 1968, the nation was openly struggling over the war in Vietnam, not only on college campuses but in mainstream media. In February, newscaster Walter Cronkite took an almost unprecedented (for him) position, offering commentary on his recent trip to Vietnam, stating that he felt victory was not possible and that the war would end in a stalemate. President Lyndon Johnson lamented, "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost the nation." As the antiwar protest continued, Nixon's campaign stayed above the unravel, showing him as a figure of stability and appealing to what he referred to as the "silent majority" of social conservatives who were the steady foundation of the American public. Nixon was able to create a union of Southern and Western conservatives during the campaign. In exchange for their support, he promised to appoint "strict constructionists" to the federal judiciary and selected a running mate acceptable to the South, Maryland governor Spiro Agnew. The two waged really affected media campaign with successful commercials and public

People argue television has increased awareness of politics to create more fair and accessible elections. However, I think TV has had a negative impact on politics because it promotes a superficial image of candidates and provides dumbed down content mainly to boost a TV station's ratings.

People say television has increased people's awareness of politics to make elections more fair and accessible. However, I think TV has had a negative impact because it promotes a superficial image and provides content that will give the TV station good ratings.

The popularity of television developed in the 1950’s, but the power of television as a medium secured its place in the 1960’s. This is demonstrated statistically in a Roper research poll aimed to investigate American television habits and related attitudes (Small 12). Adult participants were asked how they received most of their news about world current events and were then given options including television, newspapers, magazines or radio. In 1959, 57% identified newspapers over television; by 1969, television had taken the lead as the preferred source as stated by 64% of individuals (13). Participants were also asked which source they would be more inclined to believe if they experienced conflicting reports of the same news story. In the 1959 poll, the results showed television slightly behind newspapers, but the 1969 responses showed an increase of 44% choosing television as a more trusted source over 21% identifying newspapers. Again, the enchantment with television was revealed when more than half of the respondents identified TV as the option most likely to keep if forced to choose between the four previously mentioned mediums (13). The changes exhibited over a decade reveal the public’s budding dependence on television broadcast news.

Television is a form of communication that can be used to transfer information to the general public, and its full value and effects can be seen at all times, especially during election seasons. To some extent, this medium has helped people make informed decisions on which candidate is suitable to be president. However, this positive influence could distract people from focusing on policy and turn the election into a popularity contest.

The introduction of mass media, especially electronic media, has had a huge impact on the role of the president. Both the press and the president now depend on one another for existence. Richard Nixon was the first president to effectively use television. By making public appearances on TV, talking about his policies, his economic plans and his personal beliefs, Nixon garnered the support of the American public (PBS). By personifying himself for the American public Nixon made himself the first president elected for his character rather than a party for its views, thus changing the face of politics forever. Eisenhower was the first to let the press into the White House and found himself arranging his workday around the press so that he could make important announcements in time for the evening news, thus informing the American people immediately about what was going on. Kennedy, above all, was able to use television to his advantage. He showed that charisma, and amiability was the most essential thing in a TV president. The American people watched Kennedy and for the first time felt that they personally knew and liked their president. This changed the media as it caused people to believe in and trust their president implicitly (Museum Archives). The presidential debate in 1992 furthered this idea. Bill Clinton and George Bush met with a group of average Americans who questioned them. After this, morning talk shows, and

Before the invention of Television, most people could not possibly be completely cognizant of events going on overseas or even on the other side of the country and therefore had to rely on the Presidents’ word. In 1968, the Vietnam War was at its peak. President Johnson held fast to his belief that we would be able to win so the American people continued to support him. However CBS’s Walter Cronkite decided to make a trip to the war-torn country of Vietnam to see the current situation with his own eyes. When he returned he announced to the American public that the war was hopeless and there was no way that military victory was possible. Johnson knew that the American people greatly respected Cronkite and that they would all believe the war was hopeless. So the only thing for him to do was to pull troops out of Vietnam and call the war “an honorable attempt to defend democracy.” I believe that Cronkite’s coverage of the war was a good thing because it allowed the American public to see exactly what was going on and make their own decisions about the situation. People no longer had to rely only on the President. Cronkite’s documentary was also an important deciding

Since 1952, television has played a major role in presidential elections. Television allows candidates to reach a broad number of people, and personalities, to help push along their campaigns. Campaigns help the candidates just as much as the voters. The candidates get to be identified, and known to the voters, and the voters get to hear and see how a specific candidate identifies with their needs and wants. The best way to get this information out there is through the most used form of media, television.

The effects of mass media and social media have changed the way people have experienced presidential campaigns in many ways. With the development of new technologies through the last hundred years many different ways of experiencing the campaigns have taken place. Newspapers, radio, television, internet and social media websites have changed the ways we all have experienced elections.

This brings me to television programming and how it impacts out lives. Television is hands down the most influential form of media we have. Hundreds of millions of people sit down each day to plug themselves into their favorite sitcom or program. Television shows help us not only structure our appearance but also shape our morals and