The Importance Of Press Conferences

Each president from Theodore Roosevelt to Herbert Hoover faced his own unique set of situations during their tenure, ranging from railroad regulation to the Great Depression. Though each presidency required different solutions for which the public had to be shaped, through spin, in order to resolve a situation in a manner the president saw fit, some presidents such as William Howard Taft, and Warren G. Harding are not as well known for their use of spin. Due to the varying technological and communicative advancements like the introduction of press conferences and the invention of the radio; and the different events, such as World War I, and the Great Depression that resulted in the change in public perceptions of spin, the extent to which each president used spin changed because the circumstances under which each president had to preside over changed, so each president had to build their presidency off of their predecessor’s successes and failures.

Presidents consoling presidents, rivalries, and secrets are what The Presidents Club is chalk-full off. Written by Time Magazine editors Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy, they discover what really lies beneath the relationships of past presidents. Herbert Hoover and Harry Truman established the Presidents Club during Dwight Eisenhower’s inauguration (Gibbs. Pg 5) The presidents had an understanding about what the one in office would be going through. They strategically helped one another through blunt opinions and the what-not-to-do’s. As each president left the job, they understood that no one could be replaced so, they became tied to one another through the basis of the job. The Presidents Club highlights what us, as regular civilians

On another note, another event from Nixon’s presidency was his part in ending the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War. There was a lot of secrecy going on during Nixon’s time in office and

Five burglars, discovered to be connected with the campaign to re-elect Nixon, were caught breaking into the Democratic National Head Quarters in the Watergate Hotel in Washington D.C. The Democratic National Headquarters were responsible for raising money and for coordinating campaigns for democratic candidates. During the hearing of these burglars, it came to the attention of the court, that Nixon installed tape recorders in the oval office and refused to give them up. After the court forced him to hand over the evidence, he released edited transcripts that didn’t meet the courts orders. Nixon’s lawyers argued that through ‘executive privilege’, “the ability of the president to keep certain communications private if disclosing those communications

By direct comparison, George Bush, despite having been elected on a higher majority of the popular vote than Reagan , was more of an 'establishment politician'. It has been said that Bush "knew probably more Americans than any other human being has ever known" , and it is well documented that he (perhaps naïvely) expected these relations to carry over into the decision-making arena. He was reluctant to go over the heads of his friends and colleagues by using the bully pulpit; and was painfully conscious of his shortcomings as a mass communicator. On the other hand, he knew well that his strength lay in well-informed discussion on a smaller-scale, and for this reason chose the press conference as his most frequent point of contact.

Nixon on the other hand, looked off camera and made eye contact with the four news correspondents instead of engaging his real audience, the American people watching at home. This was negatively perceived by those watching as Nixon shifting his gaze to avoid eye contact.

President Richard Nixon did several things while in office that eventually led to his resignation in 1974. The most significant is that he plotted to wiretap and steal from different offices and other spaces to gather information to help lead to re-election and he also tried to cover up and lie about the scandal when it all unfolded. 1) “Nixon created a special investigative unit known as the “plumbers” to gather information…” (Foner, GML, 1031). These “plumbers” were all former employees for the CIA, which later led the FBI to believe that the break-ins where operated by the CIA. When the scandal broke, the uncovered White House tapes also led to his resignation. 2) He was heard saying on the Smoking Gun tape, “Yeah, when I saw that news summary

In 1972, there was a rise of the “Watergate Scandal” which over the next couple years would prove to tarnish the image of the President of the United States. The office of the president was behind the scandal in the fact that it was responsible for the break in at the office of the Democratic National Committee in Washington. President Nixon’s reelection committee and members of the White House had made efforts to destroy the Democrat’s chances for running for office. During the investigation, it was brought to light that President Nixon knew of the break in at the Democratic National Committee office and tried to cover it up. After much pressing by Congress, the judicial branch ordered President Nixon to give up all the evidence. Once the

Nixon had a couple reasons to tape his conversations. His main reason was to make his administration “the best chronicled in history.” He also explained that there were some instances in which having someone in the room taking notes was neither appropriate nor convenient. By using a recording device, Nixon was able to go back on major meetings and recall all that was said, leaving no room for a gray area. He believed that the positives outweighed the negatives, and the secrecy of the system overrode any objections made by those taped that had privacy concerns. President Nixon relied heavily on the advice of Bob Haldeman, Nixon’s chief of staff. Haldeman stated

President Richard Nixon is most commonly known for his involvement with the Watergate Scandal. President Nixon is a very competitive politition who has been finding who his enemys are and what their weak spots are through all of his career. His purpose for doing this is that he wants to win the election so much and he feels that “the only way he can [win] is if he knows something about his opponent that can give himself some secret weapon” (Sussman 201). President Nixon got himself into many problems during his Presidency and used groups such as “The Plumbers” and the Committee to Re-Elect the President, more commonly known as CREEP. While President Nixon was in office, he seemed to feel that he was “above the law” and that he could

actually led to the first presidential resignation in the history of America. The event occurred in June 17, 1972, when several burglars came with the intention of robbery to the office of the Democratic National Committee, which is situated in the Watergate building in the Washington, D.C. The burglars weren’t after money, but were there to steal wiretap phones and secret documents. These burglars were linked to the reelection campaign of President Richard Nixon. Even though it wasn’t clear whether President Nixon knew about the espionage of Watergate, he did take steps to cover it later. President Nixon tried to give hush money for the burglars and even put pressure on the Federal Bureau of Investigation, not to conduct the investigation. He tried to do this by destroying evidence against him and even firing the staff which was uncooperative. The importance of the Watergate scandal lies in the fact, that it changed the American politics forever. People started questioning their leadership and thought critically about who they choose as one. The scandal was investigated by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, and along the way, they found many interesting things, which gave people more information and perspective about the scandal. The journalists found out many things; some of the burglars were related to the Nixon’s reelection campaign, Nixon tapped his own phone calls, but wasn’t

The clear lesson for modern policymakers that can be derived from these episodes of improper behaviour is that subordinates should have clearly defined responsibilities and be subject to stringent oversight. Many of the so-called ‘White House horrors’ that occurred during Nixon’s term of office were not committed or even endorsed by him personally, but rather were a natural result of the chaotic structure of his staff secretariat. As Farrell notes, the accepted historical record is that Nixon did not have prior knowledge of the Watergate break-in, as he sounds ‘genuinely baffled’ on the tapes when he is first made aware of the event. The firewall between the president and his aides ultimately created an arrangement in which Nixon was unable

He would hold two or three press conferences per week and had the reporters gather around him, informally, as he sat at his big Oval Office desk. The reporters loved the access and the personal connection to the president, and they became fans of Franklin D. Roosevelt.2 FDR pioneered the use of radio, an increasingly popular medium in the United States.1 He held 30 "fireside chats" during his 12 years as president, addressing the country directly as if he were talking with a household after a family dinner.5 He didn't want to overdo it, knowing that any politician could wear out his welcome with too much exposure. But the fireside chats were eagerly anticipated and made Franklin, with his pleasant, distinctive voice and boundless optimism, a welcome guest in countless

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

In modern presidencies, increasing partisanship and political ideologies have become a critical component in a divided government, thus accentuating the hardship of modern presidents in cooperating Congress. In addition, the reforms to congressional powers and the adoption of new laws have bolstered Congress’ influence in the legislative arena, this in turn make it more difficult for the President to govern Congress in an already strained relationship.