Just weeks before the 2012 elections in
the U.S., the New York Times observed,
“In 1960, John F. Kennedy was trailing Richard Nixon as they stepped into the
crucible of the first nationally televised debate. While Kennedy soared, Nixon
stumbled and never recovered. Network television played a definitive role, but
those were very different times. There were three networks, not 500 channels,
and the consumer Internet was still very much on the drawing board of the
future. Half a century later, televised debates remain relevant, but the ritual
is up against an always-on informational stream that surges with political
messages.
The full essay is at "A Dysfunctional Trajectory of Presidential Debates."
