Robert Lerner

Television and the communications revolution

I n the wake of disclosures about Senator Joseph R. Biden plagiarizing a speech by British Labour party leader Neil Kinnock, the New York Times, on September 27, 1987, contemplated the at-least temporary end of Bidens presidential aspirations. The Times pointed out that in the past thirty years television has fundamentally changed the structure of political campaigns. In the 1950s, indiscretions like Bidens and Gary Harts would have probably been ignored by the media, taking their cue from party leaders. Now matters are different. The media have taken over the job of judging candidates, and television tapes from vast libraries actually showing Biden aping Kinnock in a New Hampshire living room were powerful images indeed. In addition, television comedians are now in a position to destroy political candidates. As the Times pointed out: