Presidential Debates: Fifty Years of High-Risk TV

By Alan Schroeder

Book Overview

Alan Schroeder's popular history now covers the 2000 Bush-Gore and 2004 Bush-Kerry debates, including innovations in format and press coverage, and adds new research on televised debates since 1960. Schroeder organizes his book according to a television production timeline, highlighting the importance of pre- and postdebate periods, as well as the live telecasts themselves. He describes production in painstaking detail, from the selection of questioners to camera angles, from makeup to lighting and set design.

Televised debates represent a rare departure from well-choreographed campaigns, and new media such as YouTube continue to reshape form and content. Conducting interviews with journalists and industry insiders, and drawing on his own experience as an award-winning reporter and television producer, Schroeder delivers a fascinating backstage tour of every aspect of debate performance.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 023114105X
• ISBN13: 9780231141055
• Release Date: July 2008
• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.3" x 9.0"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Reads like a novel

No one could have been less excited about the prospect of reading a book on debates than me. I put it off for as long as I could, finding every excuse not to begin. Once I picked up the book, however, I couldn't put it down. This book is filled with stories about the subtle moments in debates that have changed the course of elections and the course of history. Alan Schroeder's book is well-researched; I fact-checked some of the most unbelievable points and was pleased to discover that all were accurate. If you are looking for a dry, academic book, this isn't for you. This a novel, complete with great characters, a plot that moves and lots of surprises. And the best part is, it's all true.