John F. Kennedy Presidency

President John F. Kennedy and Television

Television featured in every stage of John F. Kennedy's Presidency.  Historians point to the first of his televised debates with Richard Nixon as a pivotal moment in his election. Kennedy's inaugural speech is widely considered to be one of the best in American history— the coverage of the day had its technical glitches, according to Variety, but the trade publication noted that "all in all, it was a great day for TV." Kennedy was the first President to broadcast his press conferences "live" on television.  Kennedy's assassination and funeral coverage by all three networks, is described by David Bianculli in his Dictionary of Teleliteracy thusly: "If there were only one teleliteracy item, rather than hundreds, in this book, this, even more so than Neil Armstrong's walk on the moon, would be the one— the most important, durable, and memorable contribution television ever made to American society."