Television: Commercial and Political Usage Essay
Television is considered as the prime source of information for millions of individuals around the world. Electronic Television was first displayed in the year 1927 (Stephens). In the year 1939, the RCA, leading radio corporation in America at that point, showed New York World’s Fair as well as the speech of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Stephens). President Franklin was the first president ever to appear on TV (Stephens). Also, the television started broadcasting the important event of the country. For example, Television popularity made impressive progress in War World II when television was broadcasting from war zones. When the Television became popular, the United States Constitution devised the press rights and the freedom of speech in the first amendment (Stephens). The United States has different check and balance related to press, journalism, and television which protect the press right and free speech and it also holds the government and the president accountable. In fact, the press has a special wing in the white house to inform the public so that they can keep the government in the watch.
On the other hand, television introduced entertainment industry and started showing different programs for the entertainment purposes. The world of entertainment has changed since then. The television has been introduced for entertainment since the year 1949 (Stephens). T.V introduced entertainment to the public and made available for anyone around the world. For example, when I visited China in 2005, I met a family in a small village who haven’t interacted with people outside their community. They gather every night before they go to bed, to watch a classic movie. However, the entertainment industry attracted many businessmen and women for investment and marketing. In today’s era, the television is widely used for the marketing purposes. For examples, companies such as Coca-Cola, KFC, or Bata Shoes, etc. use T.V as a platform to promote their products.
Television is also a great platform for the political purpose as many people watch television to stay updated about politics and also listen to the agendas of politicians, their policies to the public and to convince whom against it. For example, the historical debate between John f. Kennedy Democrat nominee and the republican’s nominee Richard Nixon was displayed on television in the year 1960 (Stephens). JFK was prepared for the debate by putting the makeup that he needed to appear in T.V (Stephens). On the other hand, Nixon refused to put his makeup, and he was ill days before the debate. People who heard the discussion on radio thought that Nixon performed better. But most people watched the debate live where thought JFK appeared to be confident, professional and had grace as compared to Nixon’s roughly shaven face and poor posture (Stephens). After that election where JFK won the presidency, it was thought that television is the road for the White House ever since. A recent example of the use of television in political environment is the nominations, debates, and campaigning process of recent US elections between Hillary Clinton vs. Donald Trump
In conclusion, I believe T.V has made progress since its first appearance. T.V broadcast breaking news from around the world 24/7. The use of television for multi-purpose not shows the importance of television in this rapidly developing era but also how the television can play with the minds of people in convincing them. Television also plays a role in the political process from nominations to elections and after election speech. The United States Constitution allowed the press to hold the government and the president accountable. Finally, the entertainment industry that T.V made created many opportunities for investors and entertaining the public.
References:
Stephens, Mitchell. “History of Television.” Education. New York University (NYU). N.p., 2000. Web. 22 Apr. 2017.
