Why were the Kennedy-Nixon debates in 1960 so important for the political influence of American television?

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Matt Hepburn

Why were the Kennedy-Nixon debates in 1960 so important for the political influence of American television?



    The 1960's election between Nixon and Kennedy acted as a turning point for
American politics and politics worldwide. Its knock on effect is evident in
modern day elections to a huge extent. The electoral process was
revolutionised during this period, as the use of television became an important
campaigning technique was introduced.



   Elections had previously been a much harder fought campaign with emphasis
on other factors such as the campaigners words and policies. The
introduction of TV saw a whole number of new issues brought into the sphere
of influence, such as appearance, body language and charisma. This was
highly evident in the Nixon and Kennedy of 1960. Kennedy was a clean cut,
vibrant man while Nixon appeared rough and ready with his grouchy body
language. A victory had already been won for Kennedy in terms of first
impressions, as millions of Americans tuned in to the very first debate and
were instantly impressed with Kennedy's appearance, positive body language
and stature. He appeared as a strong and dominating character, which worked
highly to his advantage portraying him instantly as a natural leader. Nixon seemed weaker and not as charismatic in stark contrast. Instantly on this groundbreaking event, huge influences had already begun to take control as for the first time ever, audiences were instantly swayed by the appearance and body language of the candidates.

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    Despite previous coverage of events in newspapers and on the radio, the television
broadcasts brought the debates to a whole new audience. People became
engrossed in the live battles on television and instantly judged each candidate on
account of his ability to confidently argue back without appearing phased or
nervous.

    The candidates soon saw the vast potential that televised debates and appearances had. It was a great alternative to the sort of campaigning which Hitler had pioneered, whereby he would travel by air across the nation meeting as many potential voters as he possibly could in order to sway their ...

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