Presidential debates on TV in peril

Chicago Tribune by Clarence Page | Apr. 23, 2008 (Opinion)

In a New York Times interview, CBS producer Don Hewitt, who directed and produced the John Kennedy-Richard Nixon debate in 1960, explained that debates entail "a big dose of show biz" and "trying to keep an audience." "When you're in television," Hewitt said, "that's your job."

Indeed, a lot of Democrats are angry at ABC for doing what it does best, which is to put on a TV show. That's like inviting yourself into a bear's cave and being surprised ... Full Story »

Posted by Roland F. Hirsch

See All Reviews »

View

Review

Jack Dinkmeyer
3.1
 by Jack Dinkmeyer - Oct. 1, 2008

No more presidential debates?! There is a God! Television has proven itself an extravagant, voracious consumer gobbling up massive amounts of material. And if TV cannot always be entertaining, it must always be intriguing and hold the audience’s attention. What ABC did in Pennsylvania was neither. Indeed, the first half was embarrassingly banal and insulting to the intelligence of the candidates and of the audience. The Kennedy-Nixon debates were historic in that they proved one cannot ignore characteristics peculiar to the medium. Nixon’s refusal to wear makeup, his nervousness, and natural five-o’clock made him look like “Tricky Dicky.” Pure imagery, it helped turn the election.

See All Reviews »

Jack's Rating

Overall
3.1

Average
from 13 answers
Quality
3.1
Facts
4.0
Fairness
3.0
Information
3.0
Sourcing
3.0
Style
3.0
Accuracy
3.0
Balance
3.0
Context
3.0
Popularity
3.0
Recommendation
3.0
Credibility
3.0
More How our ratings work »