When JFK Wrote for ‘TV Guide’

In 1959  John F. Kennedy wrote an essay for TV Guide. A year later, Kennedy would face off against Richard Nixon in the U.S.’s first nationally televised debate. Kennedy looked, well, presidential. Nixon looked at best like some schlep off the street, and at worst like a minor mob henchman. 

Kennedy’s essay was about the profound impact that television would have on politics. Some pieces of the article caught my eye.

…slick or bombastic orator, pounding the table and ringing the rafters, is not as welcome in the family living room as he was in the town square or party hall…

Hm. Is this still true? Was it ever true? Bombastic types have been standing on the beds of wagons and screaming at various populaces for centuries. Was this wishful thinking on Kennedy’s part, or was he pointing out his own characteristics, in contrast to this?

…today a vast viewing public is able to detect such deception…

Sigh. I wish I thought this were true.

[TV] can be abused by demagogues, by appeals to emotion and prejudice and ignorance.

Hm.

… the answers to all this are up to you, the viewing public.

Word. Shape up, people. Grow a little critical thinking.

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