During a debate, the most important feature if for political candidates to take advantage of an opportunity to use the power of television to project an image.
Television gave elected officials and political candidates for office an unprecedented way to speak directly to millions, face-to-face. Of course, it didn't take long for that direct contact to be mediated, mostly by the network executives, producers and reporters who put together nightly news programs. Trends like sound bites, talking heads and the dramatic nature of television news coverage have led critics to accuse TV of creating a less factual, more negative form of political coverage.
Studies have shown that since the advent of TV, the American voting public has become increasingly disenchanted with politics. Except for spikes in the 2004 and 2008 elections, voter turnout has steadily declined since 1960, the year the first televised presidential debates were held. Some argue that the increasingly negative tone of ads and political commentary has driven many to abandon interest in politics. TV has also driven a decline in party identification, replacing political parties as the entity in control of political information, as they were in the 1900s
On the other hand, the introduction of cable news channels like CNN and Fox News, with their 24-hour coverage, has expanded the scope of political reporting. With so much more air time than nightly newscasts, those channels can provide political coverage with an unprecedented level of depth. Those that are politically active today could be considered more engaged than eve.
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