ABSTRACT
In 1960, Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy were the first presidential candidates to appear together before the television cameras. The television appearances of Kennedy and Nixon were certainly a major innovation, but the idea was not nearly as new. Despite their eagerness to carry the televised debates, the networks clearly did not wish to assume the costs of granting similar time to the whole gamut of legally qualified candidates. The image of Kennedy was transformed from that of an eager, affable, young, and ambitious political aspirant into one that emphasized the competent, dynamic, and quick-thinking candidate. Immediately after Kennedy's narrow election victory, observers began to suggest that television had been the undoing of Richard Nixon. Exposure to the televised debates resulted in some rather dramatic changes in candidate image. Voting intentions changed much less, for images were interpreted to serve preference.
