The Reporter and the Presidential Candidate

Abstract

Presidential politics in the United States has undergone a revolution since 1960. Campaigns are longer and more complex. Television has created an emphasis on personality, rather than on issues, and a volatility that can change situations overnight. This has complicated the job of the press, which must concentrate more on assessing where the political situation stands than on merely reporting what candidates are saying. The relationship between re porters and candidates changes during the various stages of the campaign. It is personal and intimate during the period that precedes the election year, less so as the primaries progress. Later attitudes depend in considerable measure on whether the candidate is perceived as having a real chance of winning his party's nomination, and the presidency. By the time of the general election, intimacy is largely gone, but much depends on whether the candidate permits an "open" atmosphere. The 1976 campaign is likely to match two candi dates running open campaigns, in contrast to the 1972 con test between the open campaign of George McGovern and the closed campaign of Richard M. Nixon.