Many modern U.S. presidents have utilized the power of the media to shape public opinion. But perhaps none have harnessed radio and television so well as a political force than Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy. Using examples, explain how FDR utilized the power of radio and JFK commanded the power of television to successfully further their political agendas

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

• FDR was president from 1933 through his death in 1944 during the
Great Depression and the attack by the Japanese on Pearl Harbor
which embroiled the US in World War II.
• He was a skilled communicator who introduced radio as a venue for
political PR.
• His famous Fireside Chats were a series of 30 evening radio talk
shows designed to give his fellow Americans a sense of pride and
hope in their country during the hard times of the Great Depression.
• After the attack on Pearl Harbor, FDR continued his "chats" to
speak directly to the American people to explain his wartime
policies.
• John F. Kennedy did for television what FDR did for radio: that is,
make it into a political force.
• JFK became the first president to use the medium to speak directly
to voters.
• JFK's election may even have been attributed in part to how he
came across on television during The Great Debates, the first of
any televised debates between two political opponents. The
broadcast highlighted the physical differences between the two
men.
• Kennedy came across as tan, confident and fit while Nixon was
recovering from surgery and looked pale on TV. Those who
listened to debates on radio thought Nixon had won; those who
watched it on TV thought Kennedy was the victor.
• Kennedy also held the first live, televised press conference in 1961,
where he used television to communicate directly to the American
people.