Higher-ranking politicians have now among their staff an “image” consultant, a concession to the power that television has in shaping opinion, that what they say is as important as how they say it (or how they look saying it). Television’s entry into politics overturned a number of previously-held assumptions, beginning with the debate between the seasoned candidate Richard Nixon and the green upstart John F. Kennedy.

On this day, September 26, in 1960, 70 million viewers gathered in front of their television sets to watch the first ever televised debate.

Even in black and white, JFK radiated warmth, health and charisma. The weeks spent campaigning in California obviously helped him. In contrast, Nixon had spent the past several weeks recovering from a knee operation: he was thin, pallid, and with a shade of stubble. Nixon conceded later “I had never seen [Kennedy] so fit”, and that obvious discomfort with his own appearance during the debate only highlighted it to the audiences. Future presidential candidates took note: televised debates disappeared for a solid decade afterward.