Forming the Wire

The first 39 seconds of  the first of FDR's famous Fireside Chats, a weekly radio broadcast.

In 1933 the radio was a extremely progressive concept. The new technology allowed those with it to listen to their national leader’s voice for the first time, allowing the President to connect with his people as never before. On March 12, 1933 Franklin Delano Roosevelt conversed with his county about the need to restore faith in the Banking system, not in formal banker’s terms, but in normal, conversational, layman’s terms.  The very next day the banks opened after their banking holiday, and people were lined up outside waiting to redeposit their hoarded cash, this short address served to open the doors of effective communication between the presidency and the people of the US. We haven’t looked back.

Radio dominated communication all the way up until the 1960 election, where Richard Nixon, the then vice-president under Dwight D. Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy faced off in a momentous presidential debate, not because of the content, but because it was the first debate broadcasted over the new invention of television. Americans now had the opportunity to see what their choices for the presidency looked like, acted like, and sounded like all at the same time. They got to know the person behind the name with more depth than before. Television remained the main media source, besides print, where candidates could present themselves in the best way possible, as a complete person, not just a name with a party.

Then came the invention of the Internet. During the historic campaign run by now President Obama, social media sites like Facebook and Twitter were exploited to their fullest extent. The image of a cool, sophisticated, and connected candidate was almost impossible to pass up, especially for people among the rising generation. Politics was made cool again; a popular thing to think about. But now, it’s not just a presentation of ideas to an audience who then shows their support by voting; it is a conversation now between politicians and the people. This is what we’re interested in. How has our political involvement bettered or worsened the way politics runs? Let's find out.