Blog 3 Then and Now: 1968 and 2010

Then and Now: How Campaigns have changed and stayed the same.

In “The Selling of a President” McGinniss gives readers and inside look into the 1968 presidential campaign. Unlike the failed campaign before, Nixon used the media to his advantage this time around. With the aide of Jones, he was able to use the public’s emotions to popularize his image. This aspect of political campaigns has not changed to this day.

Ads prey on the emotions of the viewer. Nixon’s team knew that, which is why they started presenting the image of him, not so much the man. He was conveniently pre-packaged for the public’s benefit. Today, politicians have to have the “it” factor. Charisma is a must. Like the 1968 campaign demonstrated, people work off (and vote for that matter) emotions. People want to connect human to human, especially when they feel can relate to the candidate. The majority of ads have moved away from discussing the issues to appealing to emotions. For example:

Nixon’s ad is image based. Showing the nation’s monuments stirs a sense of patriotism. Images of the war causes powerful emotions. President Obama’s 2008 ad feels like an intimate conversion with him. He talks about “trusting” the American people, which makes viewers feel like their thoughts and opinions are worth something.

The 1968 campaign started to reach certain demographics, like appealing to the youth. Now, that is the basis of most ads. Certain ads will be played in certain states for certain people. There are ads targeting small town people, big cities, teenagers, working class, upper class, seniors, etc. The internet has made it easier to reach specific demographics with Facebook, MySpace and blogging.

A major difference is the controlled events. McGinniss discusses the packaging of Nixon. Politicians today are packaged to an extent, but it is unheard of to have such controlled media environments. The debate we watched in class was very unusual because Nixon did not have a rebuttal. There is no way that would happen today. Candidates need to have the last word. Every last sentence is picked apart and analyzed, so they have to deliver a precise message.

Although Nixon was able to use the media to his advantage, many voters today have become cynics. We are not as likely to “fall” for emotional ads. It is easier to see through. Have we gotten to the point where we look past it or will we accept packaged politicians?

Results – Sources of political information for Mizzou undergraduates

I did a quick count of where everyone said they got their political information from and here are the results.

The most frequently mentioned source of political information was CNN, which received 10 mentions.

Next was parents or family members, mentioned 7 times.

Here are the rest of results, with number of mentions in parenthesis:

National Television Sources (20)

• CNN (10)
• FOX News (6)
• MSNBC (2 w/one mention of Keith Olbermann)
• NBC (1)
• ABC (1)

International Television Sources (2)

• BBC (1)
• France televisions (1)

Local Television News (one specific mention of KOMU) (2)

Newspapers (20)

• New York Times (4)
• St. Louis Post-Dispatch or stltoday.com (4)
• Columbia Tribune or Missourian (3)
• USA Today (3)
• Maneater (1)
• Wall Street Journal (1)
• Chicago Tribune (1)
• Dallas Morning News (1)
• Le Monde (1)
• International Herald Tribune (1)

Online Sources (13)

• Newsy (2)
• Huffington Post (2)
• Politico (2)
• Google news (1)
• Military.com (1)
• Yahoo news (1)
• Gallup (1)
• Rasmussen (1)
• The Hill (1)
• John Combest (1)

School (social studies, political science classes) (3)

Other TV shows/networks (2)

• E! Entertainment News (1)
• Colbert Report (1)

Radio (1)

• NPR (1) – but this was a grad student, so maybe doesn’t count?

Family/Parents (7)

Friends (1)

Like I said, this was a quick count, so I might have missed or miscategorized something.

But overall, traditional sources (TV stations, newspapers, and family) led other sources. However, often the mentions of a traditional TV or newspaper source was actually of the website for that source, so I got the sense that most of the political information sources for the class are online sources. A few people specifically mentioned CNN apps for an iPhone.

Anyway, what else stands out from these results? We will discuss further in class on Thursday.

BLOG 1: Where I get my political information from

Coming from the St. Louis area, my primary source of political information always came from the St. Louis Post Dispatch.  Now that I have moved away from the area and no longer get the paper in hard copy form, when I want to hear about local St. Louis news in look online at stltoday.com .  Not only is this site free to use, it is also very easy to navigate.  The reason this paper is my primary information source is that not only to I get a St. Louis perspective on local politics, but I also hear about politics on a national level. Glen Beck.

Outside of the St. Louis Post Dispatch online website, the majority of my political information comes from word of mouth.  A family member or friends would mention some current event that I would then turn to the internet to seek more information.  Just the other day my mom was talking to me about how health care is now covering anti-smoking aids.  After hearing this is researched the topic more on the internet at this site.

While I would never consider myself a political aficionado, when I hear of a story or current event through friends or family, I will almost always research myself on the internet on Stltoday.com to find the story I’m looking for.

-Mike Vogel