Televised Political Debates

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that televised debates, which are essential in every major political race, are more than the traditional campaign advertising on which most strategies relied in the past. The author points out that the Kennedy-Nixon televised debates in 1960, which were the first major use of this media, justified the preference for televised debates as tools in political campaigns. The paper relates the advantages and disadvantages of televised debates

From the Paper:

"The direct contact between the audience and the candidates created during such debates also draws the attention on the actual human perspective of the candidate. Indeed, candidates are the representatives of the society they come from, still they are humans, and the personal perspective of his character tends to draw the attention of most viewers during election time. It may be that during Abraham Lincoln's campaigning days, character traits were more or less placed aside and the impact of the message he delivered was not influenced by his personality."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Benoit, W. L., McKinney, M. S., and Stephenson, M. T. "Effects of watching primary debates in the 2000 U.S. presidential campaign." Journal of Communication, 2002, 316-331.
• Burgoon, J.K., & Hale, J.L. "The fundamental topic of relational communication." Communication Monographs, 1984, 193-214.
• Gerbner, G.et al, "Political Correlates of Television Viewing."The Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 48, No. 1.,1984. 283-300.
• Kraus, S. Televised Presidential Debates and Public Policy. Manwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2000.
• McQuail, D. Mass Communication theory. New York: Sage Pbs., 1993, p. 20

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• Analytical Essay # 112497 : "Political Party Conventions"
• Research Paper # 75682 : "Political Advertising"
• Essay # 20223 : "Political Debate"

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