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Video Notes: Television And The Presidency Parts II and III
Key Questions
1. To what extent does the medium of television influence the political process?
2. If competence is an impression, do what extent is the level of competence we
ascribe to our political leaders dependent on television?
3. Can a president whose level of communication competence is either minimal or
satisfactory have a successful presidency?
4. What kind of communication knowledge and skills does television by its very nature
demand of a political candidate? Why was Ronald Reagan considered the "great communicator"?
5. In a competition to see who can manufacture the most compelling images who is the likely winner, the White House or the Media?
USES AND GRATIFICATIONS
What do presidents use television for?
as a mean of political persuasion
as a means of identity/impression management
the impression of leadership
the impression of knowledge
Why were Kennedy and Reagan successfully at using television?
Why were Johnson, Nixon, Carter, and Bush less successful?
Clinton is the first president who was socialized in the Age of Television?
Is it possible for any president to be able to use television
successfully?
How has Television Changed The Presidency?
Has it reshaped the political process in it's own image?
Has it transformed political candidates into entertainments
Has it made reporters celebrities?
Television by its very nature turns everything in broadcasts live into A SHOW?
Has television turned the White House into a live performance,
Will it be a sitcom today, a docudrama, an hero story?
What show is being scripted today?
WHAT DID KENNEDY AND REAGAN HAVE IN COMMON?
1. visually attractive
2. quick wit and sense of humor
on television is in more important to have the right answers or to have a sense of humor
3. effective use of the humorous one-liner which could be sound byte effectively
4. self-deprecation-audiences like speakers who can make fun of themselves
Newscaster: "What kind of governor will you be?"
Reagan: "I am not sure, I've never played a governor."
"I will not exploit my opponents youth or lack of experience"
Ronald Reagan
Reagan-Mondale Debate 1980
5. both had a PERSONALITY and were SKIllED at communicating their personality
6. SELF-CONFIDENCE, COMFORTABLE WITH THEMSELVES
Why were Johnson, Nixon, Carter, and Bush less successful in using television?
Rather than using television skillfully, these presidents were often used by television to their disadvantage?
Is the person who can not use television skillfully capable of having a successful presidency?
Why might a president being uncomfortable using television?
a. self-consciousness
b. shyness
c. anxiety
d. lack of knowledge
e. lack of skill
f. lack of motivation (negative attitude toward the press)
If Competence Is An Impression....
What type of image plays best on television?
attractive------------------------------unattractive
articulate/fluent-----------------------cotton mouth
organized mind----------mind scattered on divergent fronts
endomorph---------------mesomorph
confident-------------------------------flop sweat
knows when to talk & when to listen-----social misfit
normal vocal range----------------------high or low pitch
outgoing--------------------------------field mouse
active----------------------------------aggressive
confident-------------------------------shy
self-assured----------------------------arrogant
independent-----------------------------dependent
energetic------------------------------ lethargic
composed-------------------------------anxious
has "gray matter"---------------------"got the slows"
"brainiac"----------------------------average bear
Can you project an image of unpleasantness or may your audience feel uncomfortable and still success as president?
If Carter has a "yawner", a bore" does that make him less capable of governing?
How many of you will project an image of excitement when you give your 417 presentations?
How did changes in television technology influence and alter the political process?
1. technology evolves to permit live coverage-no more waiting for film processing
de-emphasized the importance of the nightly news
2. television images function in symbolic-dramatistic fashion through
IDENTIFICATION AND ASSOCIATION
the riots in Chicago at the Democratic National Convention in 1968
through association and identification doomed Hubert Humphreys chances of becoming president
He was beaten by Richard Nixon, a person who has lost the presidency to JFK in 1960, been defeated in the 1962 governors race by Pat Brown (Jerry's Dad)
Nixon White House was the first to attempt to systematically use television
one photo opportunity each day before noon to manipulate the nightly news
THE MEDIA VS THE PRESIDENCY
Who Can Manufacture The Best Images?
The Presidency Works As Long As The Images From The White House
Are Better Than Any Counter-Images Being Generated Outside The White House
The Images From The Watergate Coverage Were Better Than Any Competing Images That
The Nixon White House Could Manufacture
John Dean Defector, Revealing The Conspiracy-The Conspiracy Drama
"There is a cancer growing on the presidency, what did the president know and when did he know it"
GERALD FORD
spoke in plain terms, a Congressman from Michigan, not a great speaker, a former football player at the University of Michigan, all he had to do was trip a few times and the media ever hungary for someone novel, out-of-the ordinary, non-routine and the news and entertainment media work together to create a stereotype-e.g Chevy Chase-Saturday Night Live- than it's no longer just the president stumbling but the presidency stumbling-the reality of Ford's presidency was probably much stronger than the image of his presidency manufactured by the media
Gerald Ford was the first president to give a briefing on the budget, without notes, since Truman. Do you think that furnished the focus of a news story during the Ford presidency?
Carters image suffered from visual images which did not create a image of a powerful president, but which had little or nothing to do with the substance of his presidency.
Once again the form of the medium, and the biases of television were leasing message
designers- "message designers must follow where the medium leads"
Collapsed while jogging.
Had to fight of "Banzai Bunny" with a canoe paddle while fishing.
In A Television Age These Become News Stories
Day 321 America Held Hostage I'm Ted Koppel And This Is Nightline
made people feel uneasy, did not FEEL than someone was in charge
in a television age "it is all about emotion"
Did the Carter presidency fail becasue the images from outside the White House became more compelling than the images manufactured by the White House?
THE BUSH PRESIDENCY
Bush took office during a time of transition from television, moved from three networks and CNN to over 60 cable stations
explosion in Talk Show, Crossfire, Mclaughlin Report, CNBC, Headline News - the biases of the television form operated ever more powerfully, in a more competitive television environment
Bush did not trust the camera, though it made him look phony and unreal,
Can television be placed for Bush's inability to get reelected?
Where did the Republican party go wrong?
Very unusual for an incumbent president not to get reelected for the
first 200 years of this countries history.
In the Age of Television-Ford, Carter, and Bush, even with the power
of incumbency, have failed to get themselves reelected?
IT WOULD BE NAIVE TO THINK THAT THIS IS MERELY COINCIDENCE.
Bush did not understand or want to understand that is public persona and sound-byted message in the age of television is not jut veneer, it is the substance of the presidency. The image and the message must be managed, because for most of the public this is their only understand of issues, and their only source of information for constructing an impression of the president and the presidency.
The president has the power to rivet the nations attention. If we lacks the communication knowledge, skill, and motivation to use this power, the chances for a successful presidency appear to be diminished in the Age of Television.
TELEVISION AND THE PRESIDENCY
BILL CLINTON -FIRST PRESIDENT RAISED IN THE TELEVISION AGE
No Honeymoon. After a particularly acrimonious relationship with the media during the campaign, Clinton made no effort to establish a relationship or court the media.
First president to do an end run around the White House press corp and use other television genre to communicate with the public e.g talk show, MTV, Arsino, Larry King and so froth
Has television altered the balance of power between the president and the congress?
Can congress rivet the attention of the nation like the president?
What are the ways in which television drives politics and shapes the political process?
Should a medium of communication have this much power?
Should a medium of communication shape and influence the substance of political discourse?
To be a successful president one must be able to give a compelling public presentation, be able to move to 60 minutes and have intensive questioning, appear on MTV or Arsino and look "hip", appear on LARRY King and let him kiss you but, and be able to listen to people in an town hall meeting complain about their grocery,
Clinton has tended to circumvent the White House media and the presidential press
conference at the White House
There has been a growing TREND, with declining budgets, to cover the world from the White
House. Correspondents who cover the White House, doing international stories, stories about
the Department of Labor, or Department of Transportation, which are not directly tied to
the White House.
What is lost when networks attempt to explain the world through white house coverage?
As a result the White House Correspondent has become a generalists, knows a little about a lot of different subjects, less able to analyze the substance the news, less able to detect contradiction, less able to perform the functions of a journalist.
Television producers who function as gatekeepers who decide what tape and what sound-bytes white house correspondent will voice-over has the power to influence the political process by deciding what images are seen by the audience.
What is lost when the focus of television COVERAGE becomes the actions of the President?
How is Congress usually portrayed on television?
What image do you have of Congress from television?
Is television good at capturing two sides of a debate in Congress? Why not?
Is television good at capturing the legislative process in Congress? Why not?
Does television help shift the locus of power from Congress to the President?
In order to appeal to a mass audience, there is only one person who appeals to everyone and has name recognition and visibility in all parts of the country.
The President than symbolizes government on television.
You get a representation of democracy not representative democracy as Bill Moyers suggested in the Illusion Of News.
Television need stars. The form of television grounded in entertainment. The form of this mediums was grounded in the star system.
Americans are sometimes surprised that a legislation was be initiated and legislated through Congress to become a law.
HOW DOES THE NEWS CYCLE INFLUENCE THE POLITICAL DECISION-MAKING CYCLE?
DURING THE BERLIN CRISIS DURING THE KENNEDY ADMINISTRATION IT TOOK THREE DAYS TO GET THE FILM BACK, PROCESSES, AND ON THE AIR
HOW IS TECHNOLOGY CHANGING THE WAY IN WHICH POLICIES IS CONDUCTED?
IS TELEVISION AT ALL RESPONSIBLE FOR POLITICAL GRIDLOCK?
With the advent of 24 hour news, today there is no delay between an event happening, an event being reported, and once an event is reported the situation is created where
THE PRESIDENT MUST RESPOND
The News Cycle Has Been Speeded UP
If the president does not respond to every event, what kind of
impression is created?
If competence is an impression
How does this influence the president's level of perceived competence?
even in JfK time, there was a delay between when an event takes place and when the event was broadcast on television
Question From International Press Conference
"As leader of the only super power why has it taken you so long to articulate a policy on Bosnia?
Why are you held hostage to those who do not have a policy on Bosnia? Do you think your flop flop on Bosnia lead you to be taken less seriously than you would like to be taken?
Could you construct a comprehensive answer to that question given the limitations of the press conference? What if you gave a complete 10 or 15 minute answer? What kind of impression would that create on television?
Increasingly presidents feels pressure for instance decision, and to construct simple answers to complex questions. The average American probably has never heard of Bosnia and probably has no clue where Bosnia is, let alone try to understand the context in which presidential decisions were shaped.
In the competition between the White House and The Media To See Who Can Command the Most Attention By Manufacturing The Best Images
The White House Is Pressured To Compete
To Respond With Images As Intense As The One's Manufactured By The Media
ON RECORD
the president is outraged
the president is outraged and concerned
thy president is intensely outraged and concerned
OFF RECORD
the president really does not give a damn, as there is little or anything he going to be able to do about the situation, and if the media did not feel the competitive profit-motive to fill the air with dramatic images from around the world, than there really would be no reason for the president to offer an response, particularly not 15 minutes after the event occured
What happens When South Vietnam Falls And Gerald Ford Is Playing Golf?
How should he respond when he is confronted by the jackals in the media every morning on the first tee wanting to know is reaction?
In the competition of images
THE MEDIA
Death, destruction, dead children grieving mothers, people handing from helicopters, people being shoved off of ships back into the ocean.
THE PRESIDENT
Taking his annual golf vacation at his home in Palm Springs, California
In the Cuban Missile Crisis the time lag between events and response was much greater.
Allowed JFK to ignore a first message sent by Khrushchev and respond to a second more
diplomatic message. The first message left few options, and having to respond to that
message may have resulted in the invasion of Cuba, or the bombing of Cuba, both were
very realistic alternatives. At the time there were nuclear missiles in Cuba, very
capable of reaching most United States cities.
CNN does not distinguish stories in terms of salience. Everything is front page news simply because it is happening.
so if you have a situation, it is granted legitimacy, simply because it is broadcast, and then
when it is broadcast every fifteen minutes 24 hours a day, it is very easy for the situation to be perceived as a crisis.
Everything is Perceived As Equally Salient
Does Bill Clinton Wear Boxers Or Briefs, Or Perhaps He Free______ In The Summer
Does Geroge Bush carry a wallet and pay for groceries
Who styles Bill Clinton' hair?
Cover a story with no substance, and than they try to create substance by trying to figure out how long the Los Angeles airport runway was tired up?
"The conduct of the office is still based on substance of decision and the overall actions of the president"...Ron Ziegler, Nixon press secretary.
Agree or Disagree
It is not leadership, but the image of leadership which is important.
Agree or Disagree
It is not the presidents job to convey substance only to convey leadership?
Agree or Disagree