1960s Television Imagine yourself sitting in the living room with your family. It’s the mid 1960s, and you’re flipping through channels until you reach CNN, where John F. Kennedy is standing at his post, giving a speech, with Nixon right behind him. You are watching the very first televised presidential debate. You decide to watch something else, so you click the remote, and Fred Flintstone appears on the screen, living life in the town of Bedrock. On comes an ad about toothbrushes, then another about saving the local park. Then you see Walter Cronkite reporting his nightly news, and Andy Griffith playing his part on The Andy Griffith Show This is what 1960s TV was all about.
Without the era of sitcoms, cartoons, debates, and advertisements, …show more content…
The first first televised presidential debate was the Nixon-Kennedy debate, and right then and there, was when TV journalism sprouted, and where racism was a no-go (McLaughlin). Producers could advertise their products, and consumers could see them (Hoskins and Benson 165).
It is evident that if it wasn’t for the first televised debate fifty years ago, Kennedy wouldn’t have been president (Webly). John F. Kennedy was certainly very comfortable on camera and was sure that he’d win the presidential election, but Nixon was not. He struggled to stay calm, cool, and collected on camera, and could surely break a sweat (McLaughlin). “So while TV arguably cost Nixon the election once, it may very well have snagged him the election the second time around” said McLaughlin. Nixon frequently appeared on the TV show, Laugh-In which may have won him the election (McLaughlin). The debate was watched by tons of Americans all over the country. In addition, “No one realized just how much TV mattered until after those 1960 debates”
Without the era of sitcoms, cartoons, debates, and advertisements, …show more content…
The first first televised presidential debate was the Nixon-Kennedy debate, and right then and there, was when TV journalism sprouted, and where racism was a no-go (McLaughlin). Producers could advertise their products, and consumers could see them (Hoskins and Benson 165).
It is evident that if it wasn’t for the first televised debate fifty years ago, Kennedy wouldn’t have been president (Webly). John F. Kennedy was certainly very comfortable on camera and was sure that he’d win the presidential election, but Nixon was not. He struggled to stay calm, cool, and collected on camera, and could surely break a sweat (McLaughlin). “So while TV arguably cost Nixon the election once, it may very well have snagged him the election the second time around” said McLaughlin. Nixon frequently appeared on the TV show, Laugh-In which may have won him the election (McLaughlin). The debate was watched by tons of Americans all over the country. In addition, “No one realized just how much TV mattered until after those 1960 debates”