First Televised Presidential Debate
The media made a difference in the debate on September 26, 1960, between Democratic candidate Sen. John F. Kennedy and Republican candidate and Vice President Richard M. Nixon. And Chicago was the scene of everything and this is one of the interesting facts about Chicago.
By enabling voters to observe significant political events in the privacy of their own homes, this advancement in television changed the way that people vote. On September 26, 1960, the John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Richard Milhous Nixon presidential debate was the first television program to be broadcast from Chicago's CBS station. Citizens now had an easier time feeling informed and included because to this political innovation.
The first presidential debate to be broadcast during a general election took place at the WBBM-TV studios, located at 630 N. McClurg Court, at the time. (A $550 million hospital will be built at the location in 2017 by the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.)
People who watched the discussion on television and saw Nixon's perspiration-covered face and frail demeanor believed Kennedy had triumphed. According to pollsters cited in Tribune articles, radio listeners believed Nixon won.
No matter who prevailed in the first of four debates that year, the Chicago debate had a significant impact on American politics. Another presidential candidate team didn't consent to share a TV stage for a debate until 1976.
