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Lecture to Examine 1960 Kennedy-Nixon Debate, First Televised Presidential Face-off |
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Written by Lee Eric Smith
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09/04/2008 |
James Baughman
OXFORD, Miss. - After the cameras shut down following the first 2008
presidential debate Sept. 26 at the University of Mississippi's Ford
Center, political pundits and campaign surrogates are sure to be
discussing more than how each candidate addressed the debate issues of
national security and foreign policy.
They'll also be considering such questions as: What did their "body
language" show? Were they too stiff or too relaxed? Which one seemed
more "presidential?" Who won?
In today's image-driven, instant-news society, presidential debates are
clearly produced for a television audience. But where did it all start?
And how did the historic face-offs evolve to this point?
As part of its slate of debate-related academic events, UM's Department
of History tackles these questions with a campus lecture Sept. 11 about
the very first televised presidential debate, which took place in 1960
between John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon.
Guest lecturer James Baughman, director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, plans to analyze the made-for-TV event at 7 p.m. in Overby Center Auditorium. The lecture is free and open to the public.
"That's one of the things I love about history," Baughman said. "You think you understand what happened, but when you go back and look at what else was going on, you realize there's more to the picture."
Despite the hype that surrounds televised presidential debates and tends to make them seem all-important to the election's outcome, Baughman said that Kennedy's performance in the 1960 televised face-off gets too much credit for his ultimate victory at the polls.
"Television was only a part of it," Baughman said. "Kennedy's victory had more to do with the fact that he built his own campaign, somewhat outside of party politics. But the other thing to remember is that, much like today, most voters' minds were already made up before the debate came on.
"We inflate the importance of the debates. Most people don't realize that despite an abysmal performance in the first debate, Nixon almost won. Students these days routinely assume that television was more powerful than it really was."
Of course, the media landscape has changed drastically since 1960. These days, newspapers are in decline and three 24-hour news channels have created the instant-news cycle. Then, of course, there's the Internet and the advent of YouTube, which has been used effectively by both John McCain and Barack Obama. Media analysis is a much larger factor in voter opinion today than in 1960, Baughman said.
"Back then, networks didn't offer instant analysis," he said. "After the debate went off, people turned the television off and talked among themselves. But Americans aren't as partisan as we once were; they don't just strictly vote the party line anymore. So there are more independent voters who might rely on a commentator to help them form their opinions. In that sense, media analysis about a debate can be more important than the debate itself."
Joseph Ward, chair of the UM history department, said he looks forward to Baughman providing perspective on debates as the campus prepares for the Sept. 26 event.
"We get so used to these events because they're made for TV," Ward said. "Professor Baughman is knowledgeable and very energetic. He's going to get at the evolution of politics in the age of television. It's going to be a terrific event for our students and the community."
For more information about the Department of History, visit http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/history/ or call 662-915-7148. For a complete listing of UM's debate-related events and more about the presidential debate at UM, visit www.debate.olemiss.edu .
For assistance related to a disability, call 662-915-7148.
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