Impact of Television in Presidential Coverage

In the 1950's, television, having been introduced to political coverage as a new medium, surpassed the dominance of newspaper and radio media as the primary public source of information regarding politics by 1962. Political processes and events of various measures were all soon televised in recognition of overwhelmingly positive public feedback. By the 1970's, live coverage of major political events were as common as seeing grass on the ground. Through the impact of television, political campaigns and elections have never been the same as they were before 1952– the presidential race between Dwight Eisenhower and Adlai Stevenson. Political advertising enthusiast and author, Frank Biocca, states that this race was "essential to campaigning as we know it today"– creating a gateway in American politics as the Eisenhower campaign called upon product advertising executive, Rosser Reeves, to produce a series of short spot commercials to enhance Eisenhower's image in the public eye. These ads, which were as well crafted as any product ad, appeared during commercial breaks of television programs and were the first of its kind. These pro-Eisenhower commercials, which Stevenson refused to do, helped shape a caring, friendly, and devoted persona of Eisenhower into the minds of the masses which is credited to his electoral victory. Although Stevenson acknowledged the power of television, producing ads for his 1956 race, he still wasn't able to thwart Eisenhower's already-established popularity among the American people. Political advertising in the use of television has become so significantly renown that it is the "major form of communication among candidates and the voters they seek to reach out to" according to Richard Brody, Stanford University Press. In realization of Eisenhower's success, every presidential campaign since 1952 has relied extremely on political ads. 40 years later, the political parties of George Bush, Bill Clinton, and Ross Perot spent over $110