Media Bias

We've all heard that politics — and specifically the presidential election — have changed significantly since the advent of television. Before TV people relied heavily on the candidates' experience and stands on issues reported to them by newspapers; perhaps those in the 20s and 30s were swayed by the warmth of the candidates' voices on the radio.

Now a candidate has to look good (not too old nor too young; not too firm nor too soft; not too pretty nor too homely [Abe Lincoln would be out]), be able to generate the appearance of sincerity and charisma on camera (I suppose Ronald Regan had a bit of an edge here) and not only BE crazy-smart but be articulate enough to SOUND crazy-smart.

TV and the Internet give the media a lot more to play with when it comes to image-shaping. I found the picture above and the one below on the same news source Website. Can you guess which party the site leans toward based on the photos? It's striking, isn't it? I wonder how much these little "tricks" ultimately play into people's decisions.