CLOSING THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE CANDIDATE AND THE PUBLIC

CLOSING THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE CANDIDATE AND THE PUBLIC

Meyrowitz (1985) argued that television coverage has forever changed politics by decreasing the distance between the politician and the voter. Although it is no longer necessary to cross the wide gulf between oneself and the voters by being an imposing physical presence in a crowd or an accomplished orator, it is now imperative to know how to use the more intimate medium of television to one’s advantage. Analysts of various political persuasions have acknowledged that U.S. Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton were highly effective television politicians, as was John F.Kennedy in an earlier period. Other recent presidents and candidates, such as George H.W.Bush, Gerald Ford, Al Gore, Richard Nixon, Michael Dukakis, Jimmy Carter, Robert Dole, and Walter Mondale, have been criticized for less effective use of television.

Because of TV, political audiences are not as segmented as they used to

be. A candidate cannot deliver one speech to an audience of factory workers and a contradictory address to a group of lawyers, because both may be reported on the evening news, particularly if reporters perceive any inconsistency. A single unfortunate statement or behavior may have a lasting contaminating effect through the magic of television transferring that one place to all places. For example, Democratic presidential candidate Edmund Muskie was the front-runner for his party’s nomination in 1972 until he was seen on television shedding a tear in New Hampshire in response to an editor’s unfounded attack on his wife. This reaction, however noble and loyal, was then interpreted as weakness and may have cost him the presidential nomination. Nixon Agriculture Secretary Earl Butz’ private racist joke, which became public, and Reagan Interior Secretary James Watt’s insensitive comment about a group containing “a Black, a Jew, and a cripple” had costly career effects because of the instant widespread dissemination of the comment.

Richard Nixon may have never fully realized why the Watergate tapes of White House conversations were so damning and ultimately forced him to resign from the U.S. Presidency in 1974 in the face of certain impeachment. Meyrowitz (1985) suggested that Nixon was evaluating those tapes as

Politics: Using News and Advertising to Win Elections 232

say some things on occasion that they would not deem appropriate for a public forum, due to language (e.g., profanity), content (e.g., prejudicial or judgmental comments), or style (e.g., imitation of someone). Limited to the private world, such conversations may not be unusual. As public discourse, however, they appeared highly inappropriate, insensitive, and even shocking. Electronic media technology has broken down that public-private barrier by bringing formerly private discourse into the public world. No longer can a public figure assume that private comments will forever remain private.

In this chapter we begin by looking at the news media coverage of political campaigns, including televised candidate debates. Then we examine how politicians can manage the news coverage that their campaign receives. This is followed by an extended case study of the media coverage of the closest Presidential election in U.S. history Next we take a careful look at political advertising, when candidates pay to say exactly what they want. Finally, we briefly look at the cultivation theory thesis that television cultivates a political moderation in heavy viewers. Politicians consistently hope to use media to create a favorable reality about themselves in the public mind. The examples discussed are primarily from the United States, because that is the area known best to the author and the one most studied by scholars examining politics and the media, Most of the principles discussed, however, are also applicable elsewhere.