Realization / Debates

I have come to realize recently that my pursuit of a major in American History is showing through on my blog! After reading all my posts together, I realized that I am focusing more on the history of the press. Which isn't a bad thing as we need to know how it all started and how far the media has come.

Since the debate between President Obama and Mitt Romney happened last night (10/03/12), I thought it would be interesting to know the history of political debates.

The first organized, televised presidential political debate was not until 1960, between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon.

However there were senate debates going as far back as the one between Abraham Lincoln and Senator Stephen A. Douglas in 1858. These were true, face-to-face debates, with no moderator; the candidates took turns to open each debate with a one-hour speech, then the other candidate had an hour and a half to rebut, and finally the first candidate closed the debate with a half-hour response

Beginnings of Freedom of the Press

In England, no publication was allowed without the accompaniment of a government-granted license. This means that they could control the information in the publication.

In the United States, in 1735 New York journalist John Peter Zenger publishes editorials critical of the British colonial ruling establishment, prompting his arrest on charges of seditious libel. He is defended in court by Alexander Hamilton, who persuades the jury to throw out the charges. As this was a milestone in freedom of the press. It didn’t really have a quick impact.

Before the Stamp Act of 1765, most printers in the colonies treated newspapers as any ordinary printing job. Most of the information in these newspapers included reprints of other publications, stories of local interest, literature, advertisements, and opinions. With the introduction of the Stamp Act, the printers became publishers. Samuel Adams, a radical journalist, roused the people by using the colonial press to resist the Stamp Act, which eventually was repealed. This is considered to be the first time that a newspaper had a substantial impact on the public opinion and actions.

Here is a picture of not Samuel Adams publication, but one just as influential.

Political Cartoons

A cartoon is defined as a drawing, representation or symbol that makes a satirical, witty,
or humorous point.  Political cartoons have their own particular style of humor which is based on a certain blending of serious topics and humor.  Political satire has been used as an effective means of criticizing the establishment.

The first political cartoon appeared in Ben Franklin's newspaper The Pennsylvania Gazette on May 9, 1754. It appeared as part of an editorial by Franklin commenting on 'the present disunited state of the British Colonies.' The woodcut drawing entitled 'Join or Die' pictures a divided snake in eight pieces representing as many colonial governments. The drawing was based on the popular superstition that a snake that had been cut in two would come to life if the pieces were joined before sunset. The drawing immediately caught the public's fancy and was reproduced in other newspapers. http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/firsts/cartoon/http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/firsts/cartoon/


During Abraham Lincoln's campagin, the following political cartoon ran in the local newspapers that depicted him as a lazy man with no concerns.

A few from the 2012 election!

Mudslinging

Some would say that the Presidential Election of 1828 was the beginning of using the media to discredit an opponent. During the Presidential election of 1828 between President John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson, citizens witnessed the worse mudslinging ever to be seen at that time. Mudslinging is defined as “an attempt to discredit one's competitor, opponent, by malicious or scandalous attacks.” Never before had there been such an intense focus on the candidates' personalities and such little attention paid to the issues.

Both parties tried to discredit the other. Adams called Washington’s wife an adulterer. Even though Andrew and Rachael believed her husband to have died when she married Jackson. Jackson had a lot of indiscretions and Adams team was quick to publicize all of them to try to get voters on their side.  (see attached picture)

Jackson accused Adams of purchasing gambling devices with public funds that were put into the White House. Jackson also accused Adams of providing a young girl to the Czar of Russian when Adams was the Minister to Russia.

Although there were very few political cartoons at the time, just a mention of these accusations in the newspapers was something new. No matter how many of Jackson’s indiscretions were published, he still manage to win the election.

Campaign ads

Politicians have known for a long time how to use the media to their benefit. One great example are the television campaign ads (since 1952 -Eisenhower vs. Stevenson). Some were used to scare Americans, such as a 1964 ad during Johnson vs. Goldwater in which Goldwater quoted and used images of the KKK against Johnson. Others were used to instill confidence in the current president despite allegations. One example is the 1972 presidential race between Nixon and McGovern. Even though Nixon’s approval rating dropped significantly due to the Vietnam War, the video showed a different, likeable side to Nixon. The video showed his private life laughing at a benefit, dancing with his daughter at her wedding and in the oval office fighting for Americans rights.

Check out the website showing campaign ads from 1952 - 2008.

http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1952

(I was introduced to this website in another POLS class a year ago. After posting this I realized this is the same one our professor has in our Textbooks and Readings!!)

Illusions

I named my blog Politic Illusions as I want to explore the aspect of the tactful ways that the media can influence the public most of the time through illusions. Most people use the media as a resource tool to be informed of the events in not only their own community but in the world. But how many of these stories are fact? How many reports does the public actually pay attention to? As mentioned in our textbooks, there are studies suggesting that the public is getting their news more from visual outlets than print; through television, the web and social medias.

Welcome

Thanks for checking out my blog. This blog is created for a class I am taking at Kennesaw State University, Mass Media and Politics. Check back regularly to watch my journey as I learn more about how the media interacts with politics and such. Follow my political learnings and thoughts on twitter @politicillusions.