The Shining Bastion of Democracy in Action is…Television - Don Seaman-TVB

This season NBC39s The Voice has averaged nearly 11 million viewers per episode Each episode of ABC39s Dancing With The Stars brings in over 12 million viewers They39re among the highestrated programs on Primetime TV for the season a pattern that39s held for over a decade since the first episode of American Idol took hold of American television and never let goReality Television rightNope amp8211 Election TelevisionSo when we see that 592 million people watched the third Presidential debate this is really an extension of a wellestablished dynamic It may have taken over 200 years but television has done its part to get people interested in the democratic process Finally it39s hip to voteSure Presidential debates have had their share of impact upon the country NixonKennedy ReaganCarter LincolnDouglas amp8211 each debate was a very public example of the direct influence a debate at the highest level of our electoral process has on our government But as an agent of social change Clay AikenRuben Studdard had an impact in its own wayThe fact is that the casting of a ballot is one of the most sacrosanct responsibilities each citizen holds within a free democracy Each and every one of us should consider it duty honor and privilege to vote in every election held Could it be that it took a television show to get many people comfortable with participating in the democratic process That is since many avoided voting under the mistaken belief that it would lead to them being called for jury dutyWho didn39t watch American Idol Who wouldn39t want to make sure that their favorite stayed out of the quotbottom threequot each week TV made voting popular again said with absolutely no hyperbole of courseWe still watch quotvoting showsquot such as The Voice XFactor Dancing With The Stars Survivor American Idol et al Along with NFL Football they39re always among the highest rated programs on television amp8211 necessitating the term quotscripted televisionquot for what used to be just quottelevisionquot for the most partBut over 59 million people tuned in to watch two men debate foreign policy The same night that quotAmerica39s Pastimequot delivered 81 million viewers for a MLB Game 7 doordie win or go home National League Championship The NFL all but crowned America39s new pastime by now brought in 107 million viewers for a Monday Night Football game opposite them bothIn all the three Presidential Debates brought in 67 million viewers for the first debate and 656 million for the second 59 million was the smallest audience of the threeAmerican politics have become American sport And Americans love their sports But even more so Americans love their countryWe39ve invested our time as the audience Now it39s our duty our honor and our privilege to participate by voting on November 6th There39s no debating how important each of us is to this processThat night those same broadcasters who made it possible for you to vote during those shows that you love will be there to tell you who won the election to lead the country that you loveDon Seaman joined the TVB in January 2012 as Manager of Marketing Communications where he is responsible for promoting and raising awareness of the TVB and of Local Broadcast Televisionamp8217s value propositions within the traditional and digital media industries Don can be reached at dontvborgRead all Don39s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at Local MattersCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBloggerThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaBizBloggerscom management or associated bloggers MediaBizBloggers is an open thought leadership platform and readers may share their comments and opinions in response to all commentaries

Become a Thought Leader.
Share your thought leadership article with industry professionals & have them archived in Thought Leadership

The Shining Bastion of Democracy in Action is…Television - Don Seaman-TVB

Author

Publish date

Channel

Archived in

Don Seaman

Hispanic Leadership Roundtable: Inclusion, Mentorship, and Building the Next Generation (Video) - By Juan Ayala

More Videos:

Become a Thought Leader. Share your thought leadership article with industry professionals & have them archived in Thought Leadership

The Shining Bastion of Democracy in Action is…Television - Don Seaman-TVB

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

Don Seaman

Hispanic Leadership Roundtable: Inclusion, Mentorship, and Building the Next Generation (Video) - By Juan Ayala

The payment was successful

Cookies

Become a Thought Leader.
Share your thought leadership article with industry professionals & have them archived in Thought Leadership