How Social Media has impacted the current Presidential Campaign

How Social Media has impacted the current Presidential Campaign

Introduction

This paper discusses the evolution of media and communication from traditional mass media to social with respect to presidential and political campaigns. A striking practical world examination is the successful execution of social media by President Obama.

Discussion

Historical Background of Mass Media and Political Campaigns

An early master of self-promotion to a free press was Theodore Roosevelt, who used his increasing celebrity status to further progress his political career. The breakthrough point of this was his famous Rough Riders expedition in the Spanish-American War of 1898. During the war itself, Roosevelt had become aware of the press coverage of the campaign of the Rough Riders through letters from friends, and thus on his return to the United States he used this notoriety to bolster his public image in the hope of progressing his political career. Firstly, it shows how a free media can be manipulated and used to the advantage of certain political players or candidates who are strategically aware enough to do so. Roosevelt's careful planning of a public persona, one possessing the idealistically American character traits of a hero, a fearless warrior, an explorer and an expansionist, and his ability to play to this public perception were paramount in his rise to the White House (Dominick 2011). Secondly, it displays deference from the press towards politicians that has faded throughout the course of the twentieth century. It could also be argued from this point of view that to achieve and maintain a media campaign such as that of Theodore Roosevelt would be much more difficult in the contemporary age, as many modern politicians have discovered, one of whom will be mentioned in more detail later in this section (McChesney 2004).

The 1960 presidential election is one where the public perception of the candidates' personalities can be argued to have been a deciding factor. John Kennedy's masterful ability to uphold a public image of a youthful, stylish family man are exemplified in carefully planned photo sessions in settings like family holidays to the beach, his charming people skills and his relaxed confidence in his healthy good looks, all of which his campaign utilized to the maximum. It is important to note here the significance of the Watergate affair and the preceding coverage of the Vietnam War (Baran & Davis 1995). This can be identified as a time when the relationship between the media and the executive changed irreversibly from one of deference to one where criticism and scrutiny of the president were an essential part of media coverage. This is exemplified in the media's omitting of the extra-marital affairs and often debilitating health problems in their coverage of the healthy, family oriented public image of JFK, compared to the intense scrutiny faced by President Bill Clinton over activities in his public and private life (Negrine 1996).

The emergence of Social Media in Political Campaigns

The shift in media style from the press and television outlets used by ...