Title: Television and politics /
Authors: Lang, Kurt, 1924-; Lang, Gladys Engel.; Lang, Gladys Engel.
Publisher: Transaction Publishers,
Year: 2002
Subjects: Television in politics United States.; United States Politics and government
Abstract: "Having studied the live television coverage of political events since its beginnings, Kurt and Gladys Lang now put the power of television into a historical perspective. Their case studies of a ticker-tape parade for a military hero, or party nominating conventions, or presidential debates, or election night coverage, and of presidential impeachment explode the popular myth that TV opens a window on the world for people to "see for themselves." The more serious long-term effects of television, they argue, depend on how citizens, party leaders, and political institutions have accommodated to its ubiquitous presence, as after Vietnam when, during war in the Gulf, the military worked to control the video image of the battle field.
Contents: Introduction to the Transaction Edition: Fifty Years of Politics on Television -- 1. The Television Image -- 2. The Unique Perspective of Television: MacArthur Day -- 3. The First Televised Conventions: 1952 -- 4. Ordeal Before Television: The Kennedy-Nixon Debates -- 5. Late Voters and Early Returns -- 6. Watergate: Television as a Unifying Force -- 7. Debate and Dilemmas: Carter Versus Ford -- 8. The Question of "Reality."