In the last forty years, the media has become the ultimate means of relaying messages and rallying troops for political campaigns. So long are the days where candidates are forced to travel around the United States to give their elaborate speeches and hello are the thirty second sound bites that relay all pivotal information from their campaign and play during the evening news on television sets all across the world. Candidates are no longer allowed to follow Washington’s silent and impassive campaigning strategy, for the paparazzi and media have carefully positioned reporters and stealthily hidden photographers that trail candidates twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. Scandal becomes the watchword as the never-ending barrage of information pops up on politically oriented stations like CNN and as far as celebrity gossip programs like Entertainment Tonight. Still, campaigners are not innocents that are taken advantage of by the big bad press, for as the adage goes, “there’s no such thing as bad publicity”. Whether candidates are kissing babies, kissing prostitutes or kissing their hopes goodbye, media coverage leads the new political campaign. Yet, before one can look ahead, one must examine the beginning of it all: Nixon. Nixon is a perfect example of how the media can crush, elevate and simultaneously destroy a career. Richard Nixon experienced the beginning of the media campaign with his 1960 bid for presidency, tailored his campaign for the media in his 1968 presidential campaign, and then was systematically ripped apart for the cameras in his 1972 re-election campaign, displaying the awesome power media has gained in the modern political campaign. To begin, the 1960 presidential race is a milestone in terms of technological innovation, for it is the birth of the televised campaign. Senator John Kennedy, as Troy describes is, “blessed with a wealthy family, good looks and a beautiful wife” and in fact “epitomized [the] new American” (208). Kennedy, unlike previous campaigners, shies away from projecting a noble and virtuous image of himself, and instead sells a persona that is open, charismatic and friendly (Troy 210). As well, vice-president Richard Nixon, trying to shift away from his ‘Tricky Dick’ bare-knuckles method of campaigning, promises a campaign that spans all fifty states, yet is set back when a knee injury in North Carolina prevents him from furthering (Troy 210). Nevertheless, Nixon, as it stands, is the front runner before the now infamous Nixon-Kennedy debate (Troy 210). On September 26, 1960, 70 million Americans tune in to watch John Kennedy and Richard Nixon debate on domestic issues and take part in the first-ever televised presidential debate (Allen). These debates, along with three others, become known as the Great Debates and come to signify the birth of the era of technologically inclined political campaigning (Troy 210). Television, up until these debates, has never been utilized as a means of giving Americans an exclusive and live-action view of the presidential candidates. The result of these debates is perhaps the most memorable event from the 1960 election. As Allen recalls: “In August, Nixon had seriously injured his knee and spent two weeks in the hospital. By the time of the first debate he was still twenty pounds underweight, his pallor still poor. He arrived at the debate in an ill-fitting shirt, and refused make-up to improve his color and lighten his perpetual 5:00 o'clock shadow. Kennedy, by contrast, had spent early September campaigning in California. He was tan and confident and well-rested” Despite the fact people tuning in on the radio are certain Nixon is the clear winner of the debate, those who watch via television declare Kennedy their champion (Allen). Nixon’s hollow, sweating and uncomfortable persona is struck dead by Kennedy’s smiling, confident and perfectly manicured self. Nixon is not prepared for how strong and immediate the reaction to his striking and horrifying appearance is, unlike Kennedy who has been playing toward that aspect all along. As to which method is more effective: the American reaction at the polls is clear. Nixon’s campaign, from that one horrific interview onward is tainted, and when America speaks, she clearly chanted Kennedy’s name. Nixon, having learned the hard way, becomes all too aware of just how influential the media is. Following his disastrous 1960 television debate with John Kennedy, Nixon sets out to plot the perfect campaign – tailored specifically for the media. Adatto claims, “television has played a pivotal role in presidential politics. The Nixon campaign of 1968 was the first to be managed and orchestrated to play on the evening news” (20). Nixon sets about to clean up his image and “adapt his style to television” (Troy 223). Armed with a panel of media experts, Nixon adopts the Marshal McLuhan approach to campaigning and suavely answers reporter’s questions with personal and authentic answers that de-villanify his persona (Troy 224). As Troy states: “Nixon’s men produced a series of TV programs in which Nixon answered questions from ‘average’ citizens. The panelists could ask any question, and did, quizzing Nixon about the Vietnam War, civil rights, and farm policy. These televised town meetings offered a model for the electronic democracy of the future” (223). Nixon’s camp spreads his points and beliefs to as many sources as they can, writing close to one hundred and seventy papers on issues that affect the American populace (Troy, 224). Nixon is determined not to have a repeat of his 1960 debating disaster and his public relations people craft the ultimate campaign model for him to follow (Troy 224). Sadly, despite the fact Nixon is held the outline for his perfect campaign, his anxiety gets the best of him and he stiffens up and loses the fifteen point lead he has over Humphrey. As the 1968 presidential debates rounds the last lap, Nixon and his competitor Hubert Humphrey are just about neck in neck in the polls. Nixon begins to add radio broadcasts along with his televised appearances (Troy 226). By the time the dust settles, only half a million votes declare Nixon the champion and people begin to chatter and praise his triumphant ‘comeback’ (Troy 226). As Adatto notes with remorse and lethargy, “some worried that, in the television age, presidents would be sold like products. Little did they imagine that, twenty years later, products would be sold like presidents” (22). Sadly, Nixon’s media friendly image is shattered when the scandal of all scandals, Watergate, is brought to light. “Watergate”, as Ronald Garay describes, “is synonymous with a series of events that began with a botched burglary and ended with the resignation of a U.S. President”. The scandal itself all begins when Congress endorses the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 and demand a complete roster of campaign contributions over a hundred dollars (Troy). After five men break into Democratic National Committee offices and ties are found to Nixon’s re-election campaign, the media rips into Nixon. Television stations dedicate over three hundred and twenty hours of recording time to the event (Garay). The three biggest television networks at the time – ABC, CBS and NBC – set aside five hours of daily feed for the 1973 Watergate hearings (Garay). In the end, over 85% of Americans tune in for at least a portion of the hearing, making it one of the most widely televised and exposed scandal of the century (Garay). As Lawrence O’Brien, Chairman to the Democratic Nation Committee, states, “I thought this administration was a law and order administration and I have never seen such a crass violation of individual rights as we have seen in this instance” (Gil Troy class notes, 2006). Although Watergate has been far from the first example of a corrupt government system and even more corrupt politicians, it is the first example of what will become of a scandal that has the backing power of the media. As Troy argues, “Watergate and Nixon’s eventual downfall…made America’s traditional skepticism about politicians and their political system appear inadequate” (233). Currently, the state of news coverage has been reduced to parody. Now, more Americans tune in to watch The Daily Show and The Colbert Report than actual news programs. Both shows serve to critic while simultaneously informing. Their purpose is a dual one - it allows people to see from an outsider perspective the bias that exists in the media since people tend to think of the media as unbiased, but Stewart and Colbert tear that illusion apart. In a time when most news is bleak and unsettling, it falls to the often left-wing comedians to keep the populace informed. With the added bonus of entertainment adding a comedic edge allows for the depressing news to seem all the more tolerable.