HISTORY's Moment in Media: Kennedy and Nixon Face Off in First Ever Televised Debate

The first debate for the 2024 election cycle was held among Republican primary candidates and televised from Milwaukee Wisconsin on August 23 the next one among the same group will be broadcast from the Ronald Reagan President Foundation in Southern California on September 27 If recent history is any guide by the time Election Day 2024 rolls around on November 5 2024 we39ll have witnessed two or three debates between the two major party candidates for president one debate between the vice presidential candidates and in the leadup a dozen or more debates in the primary raceThis marathon of opening statements rejoinders and carefully rehearsed oneliners traces its roots to the firstever televised presidential debate on the evening of September 26 1960 sixtythree years ago this month It was the first of four debates all held in the six weeks leading up to the election between Democrat John F Kennedy then a US senator from Massachusetts and Republican Richard M Nixon then vice presidentBefore 1960 presidential candidates campaigned in person whether in train tours or by speaking to crowded halls Some had debated like the famous LincolnDouglas debates in the leadup to the Civil War although those were for a Senate seat Candidates had appeared on television too like in the dignified ads made for Dwight Eisenhower39s 1952 campaign since the young medium had grown popular in the 1950s But the 1960 debates where the first time millions of Americans could see the candidates live and in action as potential commanders in chiefBroadcast live from a studio in Chicago the first KennedyNixon debate was watched by an estimated 70 million Americans more than a third of the country39s total population of 180 million and may have changed the course of the electionOnly four years younger than Nixon Kennedy was less known to the American public and was considered youthful and inexperienced What Kennedy did understand was modern imagemaking in a way Nixon did not By recognizing this opportunity Kennedy played youth to his advantageDon Hewitt who would go on to create 60 Minutes was in charge of the production and the two candidates made very different use of his offers of assistance in preparation Both men were offered the services of a CBS makeup artist and both turned it down but Kennedy later had his own team apply makeup Both were offered a preproduction meeting with Hewitt39s team only Kennedy took the meetingWhat39s more Nixon had recently been hospitalized for a knee operation and had lost weight On his way into the studio he reinjured the knee but didn39t want to call off the debate The resulting image was a man wearing a shirt that was too large who looked uncomfortable pale and sweaty Nixon also as in a traditional debate format looked at Kennedy when he spoke Kennedy by contrast seemed comfortable and at ease When he spoke he directed his eyes to the camera and by extension to the viewers at homeGallup polls before the first debate showed a close race with Nixon on the upswing After the debate polls showed Kennedy in the lead He went on to win the presidency by the smallest margin until the 2000 BushGore raceIt was clear just how powerful televised debates were and subsequent presidential candidates were wary of them The next televised debates didn39t happen until 1976 when incumbent Republican Gerald Ford agreed to join Democrat Jimmy Carter for a series of three debates plus one vice presidential debate sponsored by the nonpartisan League of Women Voters LWVThey were still powerful forums quotThere is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europequot Ford said at one point this was decades into the Cold War and the flub was seen as a major gaffe Four years later in another LWVsponsored debate Republican Ronald Reagan complained that Carter was misrepresenting his positions and coined the folksy catchphrase quotThere you go againquotBy 1984 the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates CPD was formed to institutionalize the faceoffs and CPD has been running the debates ever since even as the political parties themselves and various media partners have rapidly expanded the number and format of debates for the primary seasonBut as our politics have become more polarized and our media environment more splintered the future of these debates is less certain Do they still represent a common ground or are they on their way out In 2016 there was gamesmanship about who could sit where in the audience with CPD officials threatening to have guests removed In 2020 one debate turned into chaos and another was canceled when the candidates couldn39t agree on termsSo what will happen when we get to the 2024 general election campaign That39s still up for debateClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillageorgMyersBizNet

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HISTORY's Moment in Media: Kennedy and Nixon Face Off in First Ever Televised Debate

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