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Before the invention of television, Americans relied on newspapers and the radio to spread newman other important information. Once the use of the television began, it spread like wildfire nation-wide. Information was made available almost immediately after the incident occurred. People could now see things rather than just listen to them. In effect, people s views changed dramatically over the next few decades, especially their views on political issues. Most people believed that what they were seeing and hearing about on television was the only way things could possibly be.
Because the images that they were seeing were real, many people assumed the ideas were correct. Many people did not understand how they could see and hear something on TV. that wasn t the truth or the correct opinion. Because of the immense amount of political material that was shown, people came to believe things that they wouldn t have ordinarily believed regarding political issues.
The first event in television history happened in 1817, when a Swedish chemist named J ns Jakob Berzelius discovered the element selenium. It was later discovered by the Irishtelegraph operator, Joseph May, that selenium had a property called photoconductivity. In other words, the amount of electrical current that selenium could carry depended on the amount of light that struck it. This led to American inventor George R. Carey s first television system. This first set was very complicated and required a numerous amount of wires.
In 1884 Paul Nipkowinvented the scanning disk, which further advanced the television set, but did not perfect it by far. This was a round, flat disk with holes arranged in a spiral shape on is surface. Because the picture was not clear, more improvements were made in the 20 th century. In 1911, A.
A. Campbell Swinton wrote a description of the first purely electronic system. By 1945, television was in thomas market. It began to appear in households all across America.
Today, television is everywhere. This obviously has not always been the case. In 1948 there were fewer than one hundred thousand television sets in the United States. But one year later, Americans owned one million televisions. By 1954, there were more than forty million television sets in the U.
S. and by 1960, there were 150 million Americans who owned a TV. It int surprising then, that today over 90 million people watch television every day. There is approximately one and a half television sets for every household in the U. S. (Perkinson 9).
With all these televisions, it is not surprising that the average American watches about twelve hundred hours of TV a year (Perkinson 9). And with such large numbers of people watching so much television, is should be obvious that television greatly affects the views of Americans. Among other things, television has had a tremendous impact on American politics. Because America is a democracy, the way the people view politics and political candidates is what shapes the country.
Since the 1940 s, television has become a window to the world, with influence nearly every aspect of life. Everyday, millions of opinions are changed solely because of television. Because of the role of television, many American views are what they are today. Perhaps the best known example of television affecting politics is the first televised presidential debates. In September of 1960, the first nationally televised presidential debate was between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon.
Many people s stance on the presidential election was altered by the mere appearance of the two candidates. Kennedy was a young, handsome man who looked prepared and confident. On the other hand, Nixon was not prepared for the conditions under which the televising would occur and was made to look sinister by the shadows and the colors of his clothing. He perspired under the ho lights and the appearance he gave off was not one of a confident and well-prepared president. Itis believed that Kennedy won this close election because of his television victory.
This is not the only instance in which the presidency has been affected by television. Ineven more recent times, many people also believe that the defeat of George Bush by Bill Clintonwas partially brought about by Bush s unsuccessful televised debates with Clinton and Clinton swell-liked appearance (Croteau and Hoynes 13). Although many people do not realize it, the physical image of a politician plays a very important role in that politician s election to an office. It is sometimes hard for a person to distinguish between approval of a candidate s ideas and their appearance.
This difficulty stems from people s unintentional desire to be represented by attractiveness. This attractiveness is also what causes the views of others to be passed on through television. Because television allows you to see things, people are sometimes steered towards things solely based on the appearance of those things. With ideas being passed so freely among people through television, it is sometimes hard to believe that any ideas are an individual s own beliefs, rather than those of a television program.
Television also has the power to inflate the impressiveness of a topic. More people noway and heard what was only witnessed before by a few. So many people were united for the first time; having the thrill of being involved in something and sharing it with the entire nation. This brought a sense of accomplishment and belonging ness upon those involved. People now wanted to be involved in what was going on, and they had a way to do it. Politics was now available tumor people than ever before (Croteau and Hoynes 2).
But this reflection of news and information is not always an exact mirror of truth. This mirror is sometimes slanted, and does not always reflect all of the information. Because of this, people s views and decisions are sometimes based on incomplete information. Not only does alack of information contribute to biased decisions, but biased views can also be formed when journalists present their ideas as if they were truth (Croteau and Hoynes 30 - 33). Another mode of molding people s views regarding politics is through the use of political commercials. These commercials, littered with catchy slogans and songs, have been instrumental affecting the votes of many Americans during past elections (Classics).
These commercials provided reasons why a particular candidate should be voted for, as well as reasons why their opponent should not be voted for. They helped to highlight and emphasize a candidate s main points and opinions on important issues. These spots, or advertising messages less than five minutes in length, are still common today and are just as influential now as they were then. (Classics). Television has also changed the way news was regarded. News suddenly was received much quicker with the use of television. People knew what was happening when it was happening, rather than after the fact.
The current results to presidential polls could now reach the public quicker, as well as information that would help the candidate express their views faster, more effectively, and to a larger audience. The invention and use of television made people more informed on some political issues, causing views to change and ideas to be born. Although people s views were changed for the better by the creation of a more informed public, they were also changed for the worse because opinions were not based solely on facts at all times. Appearance and other factors sometimes seeped in. The invention and use of television did not positively or negatively affect American politics, it merely altered the American political system.
Our system of politics is run much differently today than it was before the invention of television.
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Research essay sample on Television Sets Political Issues
