White House History Quarterly 67 - Television - Durgin Kerr

Please note that the following is a digitized version of a selected article from White House History Quarterly, Issue 67, originally released in print form in 2022. Single print copies of the full issue can be purchased online at Shop.WhiteHouseHistory.org

No part of this book may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

All photographs contained in this journal unless otherwise noted are copyrighted by the White House Historical Association and may not be reproduced without permission. Requests for reprint permissions should be directed to rights@whha.org. Contact books@whha.org for more information.

© 2022 White House Historical Association. All rights reserved under international copyright conventions.

TELEVISION

Comes to the White House To Stay

REBECCA DURGIN KERR

television has been a staple in american homes since the late 1940s and 1950s,1 and the White House is no exception. Presidents and first families placed TV sets in the West Wing and in rooms throughout the Residence so they could have up-to-the-minute news—and images—of current events even as they used broadcast television to communicate with the American people.2

In 1950, 9 percent of American households had televisions; by 1960, the number had grown to 87 percent.3 The technology had been a long time coming. It began in 1910 with the French inven tor Edouard Belin’s experiments for transmitting photographs, and it was he who began using the term “television.”4 In 1912 the Washington Herald explained that “television” means “seeing at a dis tance.”5 World War I paused the development of television, but improvements in radio and wire communication continued to be refined during that time.6 During the 1920s Washington, D.C., inventor C. Francis Jenkins worked on a device that could use radio signals to transmit images, and on June 13, 1925, he demonstrated his “radio vision” machine to U.S. officials, including the secretary of the navy. The Sunday Star stated that “it was heralded as the first time in history that man has literally seen far-away objects in motion through the uncanny agency of wireless.”7 In 1929, Jenkins flew an airplane over Washington and used the

“aerial eye” camera to transmit overhead images of the city’s monuments and buildings via radio waves to a transmitter in a laboratory.8 Experiments in Europe were also successful in transmitting images at this time.9

President Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose radio broadcasts, called fireside chats, spoke directly to the American people,10 was the first president to be televised. On April 20, 1939, his speech commem orating the opening of the New York World’s Fair was broadcast in the New York area.11 The demon stration of this new technology excited Americans, but prices for TV sets were much too high for most people and uniform standards for broadcasting and viewing had not yet been established. The Federal Communications Commission announced that television “commercial service could begin on or after 1 September 1940,” 12 and some thought that the presidential Inauguration in 1941 would be broadcast; that did not happen until a decade later.13 World War II interrupted television broad casts, but technological developments during the war helped advance television after the war, and by the end of the 1940s the boom in television sales had begun.14

President Harry S. Truman was the first to allow television cameras in the White House. He gave the first televised speech from the White House on October 5, 1947, urging Americans to

right George Hastings, secretary to President Herbert Hoover, examines an early television receiver in his o ce at the White House, July 8, 1931.

previous spread President John F. Kennedy stands at the podium behind a production slate board during a television taping at the White House, July 3, 1963.

conserve food to help prevent starvation in post war Europe. The three local Washington, D.C., stations combined their equipment to broadcast the speech to Washington, Philadelphia, New York, and Schenectady, New York.15 In 1949 President Truman also became the first to have his inaugu ral celebrations televised.16 During the renovation of the White House (1948–52), wiring for televi sion was installed in just about every room. The Evening Star stated, “In bedrooms and other rooms television sets could be plugged in for programs from practically anywhere in the country, carried over special wires. The screens were tuned in by a special dial arrangement connected with a central control system.”17 At the end of his term, on May 3, 1952, President Truman gave a televised tour of the completely renovated White House.

By the time of the 1952 presidential election, Americans were accustomed to seeing the pres ident on television but were just getting used to televised campaigning.18 Some attributed Dwight D. Eisenhower’s win to his TV commercials.19 The Inauguration on January 20, 1953, was televised

above

Viewers watch as President Harry S. Truman addresses the United Nations, October 25, 1946.

right

A family gathers around an early RCA television to watch President Truman’s Inauguration—the rst Inauguration to be televised, January 20, 1949.

opposite Schoolgirls in New York City view President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s televised Inauguration during their lunch period, January 20, 1953.

right President Eisenhower consults with television adviser Robert Montgomery following a radio and television report to the nation, June 27, 1960.

below President Eisenhower announces that he will run for a second term during a broadcast from the White House, February 29, 1956.

and demand was high for Eisenhower to appear on television during his first year in office.20 The Key West Citizen stated, “We think the televising of some of the President’s press conferences would not only be educational for the average citizen, but would be an extremely interesting show.”21 After film and television actor Robert Montgomery was brought to the White House to advise Eisenhower on how to present himself on television, presi dential press conferences began to be televised. Montgomery served the president as a media con sultant for seven years.22

Through television, Eisenhower spoke directly to the people at times of crisis, an expectation that continues to the present day. In September 1957, when mobs threatened to prevent the courtordered integration of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, he returned from vacation in Newport, Rhode Island, to address the nation from the White House:

I could have spoken from Rhode Island, where I have been staying recently, but I felt that, in speaking from the house of Lincoln, of Jackson and of Wilson, my words would better convey both the sadness I feel in the action I was compelled today to take and the rmness with which I intend to pursue this course until the orders of the Federal Court at Little Rock can be executed without unlawful interference.23

In his 1960 presidential campaign, John F. Kennedy used television to reach a wide audience, and his poise on camera during the presidential debates helped him defeat Richard Nixon, who appeared less comfortable on television.24 As pres ident, Kennedy had a television set, which he called “that little gadget,” installed in the Fish Room (now called the Roosevelt Room) in the West Wing,25 and on a small television he and members of his admin istration watched the lift-off of Astronaut Alan B. Shepard’s flight into space. In 1961, Kennedy began televising live press conferences.26 To improve his on-air image, Kennedy rewatched press confer ences and brought in Franklin Schaffner, a film and television director, to assist in the setup of cameras and lighting.27 Taping sessions were orchestrated like movie productions. Like Eisenhower, Kennedy went on television to address the American people directly during crises over school desegregation.28 But perhaps the most famous televised event of the Kennedy administration was First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy’s tour of the White House in February 1962.29 Photographs from the Private Quarters show that by the next year there were console tele vision sets in the Lincoln Sitting Room and the president’s bedroom.

opposite top

Senator John F. Kennedy makes a charismatic appearance during a televised presidential debate with Vice President Richard Nixon, October 21, 1960.

opposite below

President and Mrs. Kennedy are joined by Vice President Lyndon Johnson and others in the president’s secretary’s o ce to watch as Alan Shepard takes o in the Mercury capsule Freedom 7 to become the rst American to make a suborbital ight, May 5, 1961.

right President Lyndon Johnson watches coverage by three networks on his bank of televisions in the Oval O ce as the Saturn 1B rocket lifts o , October 11, 1968.

President Lyndon B. Johnson had not one but three television sets installed in his bedroom and in the Oval Office, so he could watch the news on all three networks at once. His reliance on television to provide him with current information was so acute that his secretarial staff noted in his Daily Diary on September 18, 1966, when Johnson was aboard the presidential yacht Sequoia, that “the televi sion reception was not good, and at one point the President thought he might go back to Washington so he could get good TV reception.”30 By Johnson’s time, it had become conventional for presidents to use television to speak directly to the American people at times of crisis. He addressed the pub lic often, particularly regarding the course of the Vietnam War, and on March 31, 1968, during one of these addresses, he stunned viewers by announcing that he would not run for reelection as president.31

One of the first things Richard Nixon did as president was to move Johnson’s three-monitor television to the Executive Office Building (EOB).32 In 1971, President Nixon created the White House Television Office to work along with the television networks to showcase the president’s daily routine for the American public. He and his staff appeared

on news and talk shows, and the wedding of his daughter Tricia was televised, as was his 1972 trip to China.33 From the Oval Office, in July 1969 Nixon watched the Apollo 11 mission on two televi sion sets, one pulled toward the desk and the other closer to the wall. In 1974, Nixon went on television to announce to the American people that he would resign the presidency.

Like his predecessor, Gerald R. Ford watched the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project crew July 18, 1975, on television from his desk in the Oval Office, and he communicated with them via radio-telephone. Also like his Nixon, who had appeared on Laugh-In, Ford appeared on a TV comedy show, delivering the famous opening line, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday night,” from the Oval Office for the April 17, 1976, episode of Saturday Night Live 34 President Ford enjoyed having breakfast in his private dining room while watching television on a portable set that could be moved around or hid den from sight.

Adapting the informality of President Roosevelt’s radio fireside chats to television, President Jimmy Carter televised his first fireside chat on February 2, 1977. He and his family enjoyed watching television,

both upstairs in the Residence and in the so-called “Little Theater,” where they watched the Voyager spacecraft’s Jupiter encounter on closed-circuit television.35

President Ronald Reagan’s acting experience in film and television earned him the title “Great Communicator” for his skill in using the medium of television throughout his presidency.36 During a May 18, 1985, interview with Chris Wallace, he described his technique for reading the tele prompter in the Oval Office, where he often held large press briefings in front of multiple cameras. Evaluating his performances, he was able to watch himself on television on sets placed on carts that could easily be moved from room to room in the White House and West Wing.37 He announced the government-supported advent of closed caption ing, which permitted hearing-impaired Americans to experience television: “The recent initiation in March 1980 of closed-captioned television, which opened this important communications medium to millions of deaf and hearing-impaired Americans, is a significant achievement toward this end.”38

Like President Ford, President George H. W. Bush, too, watched television on a small TV set that could easily be moved around. By this time war itself was televised, and on January 16, 1991, President Bush watched the commencement of Operation Desert Storm from the Oval Office. He used the platform of television to broadcast pub lic service announcements and was proud that he appeared on TV to talk to young Americans about not taking drugs.39 First Lady Barbara Bush often watched her husband’s television appearances in the Private Quarters of the White House.

Following his predecessors, Bill Clinton used television as a campaign tool when running for president, making forty-seven appearances on talk shows, the most notable of which was when he played the saxophone on The Arsenio Hall Show. 40 As president, he took advantage of the nearly 24/7 news broadcasts to watch, for example, the tele vised debate between Vice President Al Gore and Ross Perot on the North American Free Trade Agreement and then the vote in Congress on the treaty. Clinton’s 1997 Inauguration was the first time the internet was used to broadcast the events live.41 Scandals involving President Clinton and the resulting impeachment proceedings were heavily televised.

Communicating with space crews from the Oval

Dr. Henry Kissinger watches a video of Richard Nixon’s televised 1972 trip to China while touring the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, California, October 14, 2016.

Two televisions are set in place in the Oval O ce near President Nixon’s desk ahead of the Apollo 11 moon landing.

above

President Gerald Ford often watched a small portable television that could be moved from room to room.

right

President Jimmy Carter on television during his rst reside chat at the White House, 1977.

Office continued during the George W. Bush pres idency. From the Roosevelt Room, he was able to wave to the crew of the Space Shuttle Discovery while talking to them on the phone. A remote cam era provided overhead views of President George W. Bush welcoming Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon to the Oval Office on January 13, 2008. Also continuing the tradition of speaking directly to the American people through television at times of crisis, President Bush appeared on television to reassure the American people after the events of September 11, 2001, and to inform the public of the progress made during the Iraq War.

From his private study off the Oval Office, President Barack Obama was able to watch Press Secretary Robert Gibbs’s first press briefing on January 22, 2009. He was also able to watch as First Lady Michelle Obama broke ground for the White House vegetable garden on March 20, 2009. This was on a flat screen TV displayed in a wall cabinet. President Obama often conducted tele vised interviews in the Map Room of the White House. When he watched the launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis on July 8, 2011, he was able to see split screen coverage, a great advance over the tri ple televisions of the Johnson era. In addition to

above President Ronald Reagan evaluates a recent televised appearance by viewing televisions set up on carts in the Cabinet Room, October 16, 1986.

AP IMAGES

above President George H. W. Bush watches television coverage of Operation Desert Storm in the in the study adjacent to the Oval O ce, January 16, 1991.

right Bill Clinton appears on “Florida Talks to Clinton: A Town Meeting,” in one of many televised appearances he made during his campaign for president, September 1992.

TOP: GEORGE H. W. BUSH PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY / BOTTOM:

Following television’s slow introduction to the White House in the 1950s and 1960s, its service to presidential ambitions has increased rapidly and its relationship to the presidency become ever more complex. By the end of the Johnson adminis tration, its role in the American presidency was well established. Like Johnson, subsequent presidents,

President George W. Bush waves to the crew of the Space Shuttle Discovery August 2, 2005, (right) during a phone call from the Roosevelt Room.

President George W. Bush waves to the crew of the Space Shuttle Discovery August 2, 2005, (right) during a phone call from the Roosevelt Room.

With televisions available throughout the White House, President Obama could follow the news throughout the day. He watches the coverage of First Lady Michelle Obama, breaking ground for the White House vegetable garden (below right), 2009. And he catches the launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis on a television in the Outer Oval O ce (below left), 2011.

With televisions available throughout the White House, President Obama could follow the news throughout the day. He watches the coverage of First Lady Michelle Obama, breaking ground for the White House vegetable garden (below right), 2009. And he catches the launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis on a television in the Outer Oval O ce (below left), 2011.

President George W. Trump and his successor, Joe Biden, relied on video conferencing displayed on televisions to communi cate information from health officials directly to the American people. After his Inauguration, President Biden employed video conferencing to perform vir tual swearing in ceremonies of top aides and offi cials as the pandemic continued. He also went on televsion quite regularly to inform the American public of federal responses to national and inter national events.

GETTY IMAGES

TOP: GETTY IMAGES / BOTTOM LEFT AND RIGHT: WHITE HOUSE PHOTOS

TOP: GETTY IMAGES / BOTTOM LEFT AND RIGHT: WHITE HOUSE PHOTOS

With televisions available throughout the White House, President Obama could follow the news throughout the day. He watches television coverage of his wife, First Lady Michelle Obama, breaking ground for the White House vegetable garden (top), March 20, 2009. And he catches the launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis on a television in the Outer Oval O ce (bottom), July 8, 2011.

Donald Trump’s extensive television experience prior to his presidency included appearing in the CBS television mini-series I’ll Take Manhattan. The future president plays himself in a scene with Valerie Bertinelli as Maxime Amberville, 1987.

Donald Trump’s extensive television experience prior to his presidency included appearing in the CBS television mini-series I’ll Take Manhattan. The future president plays himself in a scene with Valerie Bertinelli as Maxime Amberville, 1987.

Melania Trump joins her husband on the Today show during his 2016 presidential campaign and a television screen set up in the Rose Garden allows White House guests to follow COVID protocols while viewing her address to the Republican National Convention, 2020.

Melania Trump joins her husband on the Today show during his 2016 presidential campaign and a television screen set up in the Rose Garden allows White House guests to follow COVID protocols while viewing her address to the Republican National Convention, 2020.

televised interactions, the Obama administration was the first to use the social media platforms of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat to reach a wider audience on the internet.42

televised interactions, the Obama administration was the first to use the social media platforms of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat to reach a wider audience on the internet.42

Before he was elected president, Donald J. Trump had extensive network television experience.

Before he was elected president, Donald J. Trump had extensive network television experience.

As president Trump participated in various televi sion interviews at the White House and a Meet the Press interview was taped outside in the garden on June 21, 2019. He was also an avid follower of the

As president Trump participated in various televi sion interviews at the White House and a Meet the Press interview was taped outside in the garden on June 21, 2019. He was also an avid follower of the

TV coverage of his administration. During the coro navirus crisis, his task force provided lengthy tele vised updates daily. Television news programs reg ularly published President Trump’s Twitter posts to reach those viewers who did not follow him on social media.

TV coverage of his administration. During the coro navirus crisis, his task force provided lengthy tele vised updates daily. Television news programs reg ularly published President Trump’s Twitter posts to reach those viewers who did not follow him on social media.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, President Trump and his successor, Joe Biden, relied on video conferencing displayed on televisions to communi cate information from health officials directly to the

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, President Trump and his successor, Joe Biden, relied on video conferencing displayed on televisions to communi cate information from health officials directly to the

American people. After his Inauguration, President Biden employed video conferencing to perform vir tual swearing in ceremonies of top aides and offi cials as the pandemic continued. He also went on televsion quite regularly to inform the American public of federal responses to and inter national events.

Following television’s slow introduction to the White House in the 1950s and 1960s, its service to presidential ambitions has increased rapidly and its relationship to the presidency become ever more complex. By the end of the Johnson admin istration, its role in the American presidency was well established. Like Johnson, subsequent presi dents, to a greater or lesser degree, watched televi sion news and commentary to get a sense of public opinion. They went on television to reassure the American public in times of crisis and to impress the American people as well, with events that were carefully staged. Kennedy had watched Shepard’s lift-off into space; subsequent presidents had them selves televised as they watched astronauts in space on White House televisions and spoke to them in messages meant for all Americans, who were also watching. With the arrival of cable news networks,

to a greater or lesser degree, watched television news and commentary to get a sense of public opinion. They went on television to reassure the American public in times of crisis and to impress the American people as well, with events that were carefully staged. Kennedy had watched Shepard’s lift-off into space; subsequent presidents had them selves televised as they watched astronauts in space on White House televisions and spoke to them in messages meant for all Americans, who were also watching. With the arrival of cable news networks, coverage and analysis of the presidents were pretty much 24/7. From the White House, presidents could watch not only space launches but congres sional debates, hearings, and votes, all in live time on flat-screen TVs, ubiquitous throughout the West Wing and the Private Quarters but often hid den behind cabinet doors. And, with the arrival of social media, presidents no longer needed to rely on television addresses to get their messages to the American people. With the arrival of video confer encing, they no longer needed to meet with world leaders in person. As new technologies develop, we can expect that future presidents will continue to adopt them.

right President Donald Trump makes a televised address from the Oval O ce as the rst measures to combat the coronavirus are put in place, March 11, 2020.

below President Joe Biden delivers a televised speech announcing the banning of Russian energy imports following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, March 8, 2022.

TOP: GETTY IMAGES / BOTTOM: WHITE HOUSE PHOTO