Ronald Reagan Prepared For Peace Analysis

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The way the president handles the media says a lot on how citizens perceive the type of president they are. In 1961 President Kennedy was the first president to hold a live televised news conference. He read a prepared statement on the famine in Congo, and the ongoing negotiations for an atomic test ban, then the president took questions from reporters, he answered questions regarding relations with Cuba, voting rights, and food aid to impoverished Americans. Even then President Kennedy knew the power and the effect the media had on the American people, he knew that the media had the power to sway public opinion in his favor. Like President Kennedy, President Reagan knew the importance the media played in public opinion. President Reagan was …show more content…
According to an article Reagan on the News written by Andrew Van Alstyne, the article discussed the “Ronald Reagan: Prepared for Peace” commercial. This commercial was made for President Reagan reelection, which received got a lot of attention. The political add opened with the line “there is a bear in the woods”, the commercial showed a grizzly bear wandering through the woods, the narrator then question if the bear is dangerous and to be prepared if it is dangerous. The commercial ends with the tagline “President Reagan: Prepared for Peace”. The ad received praise, the message was clear, stating that Reagan was better prepared to deal with the Soviet Union. The media reported that Reagan was “preparing for peace”, when he was actually doing the opposite. As president, President Reagan spent more money on defense and weapon manufacture and research than any other president at the time, spending over $456.5 billion dollars in 1987. However this fact was not reported, the Reagan administration did such a good job creating the presidents image, by enforcing the idea that the president was prepared for peace. It also helped that the media held back criticism ad did not go after him to roughly. According to the article Beloved by the Media by Mark Hertsgaard, the American people did not like to hear criticism of President Reagan. According to the article “A New York Times correspondent was pulled …show more content…
Radio, magazines, and newspapers were the only way an ordinary citizen would know what was going on in politics and government. Citizens read about the president, his agenda, but not only did they read about him but they also read about congress, and the Supreme Court. During this time the president was not the center of attention, in the eyes of the media. It wasn’t until radio where we see a transformation in American politics. It brought the news into peoples home, it brought them the president directly into the home of the listeners. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first to use the power of the radio to speak to the American public. By developing the Fireside Chat he spoke to American families in their living rooms, telling then what was going on in Washington. Then when television was introduced it was President Kennedy who shined in front of the camera. In a televised debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon we see a pale, sweaty nervous Nixon, on the other hand we see a confidant young Kennedy, who looked into the camera talking directly to the audience. After the advancement of media and politics under the Reagan presidency, came the next presidential media style brought from the Clinton

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