When our Forefathers sat down to write a constitution, they did so in the hopes that times would change and that our government would adapt. Now, exactly how much change and adaptation, I don't think they had any idea. If by some miracle of science we were able to resurrect Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and the others and show them around the America of today, I think they would have a heart attack and die... again. The course of our country has changed considerably since that time and with it the relationship of the Office of the President and the media. The two are constantly pitted against each other, battling for the limelight. The question is can the Presidency survive in an age of twenty four hour news coverage from a media that thrives on conflict and negativity? I believe, as I imagine the creators of our Constitution believe, it can and will prevail.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1933. Lietuvių: Frankl...
English: Presidents Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon, Ge...
Official Portrait of President Ronald ReaganIn order to answer that question, one has to first look at the ways that the press covers the President. The press has taken many different forms since the creation of the office, but there has always been an intense coverage of what happens in the Oval office. During its infancy, the President was covered by what I consider early blogs. They weren't so much news stories as we think of today but political writings distributed around mostly the intellectuals of the time. The journals and magazines of the day were paper discussion boards that provided fodder for debate among early political junkies. With the advent of mass printing and a broader dissemination of news the press and public interest of the White House expanded. So much so that the White House created an entire division designed to deal specifically with the press. Today we have...