10. The Power of Radio?
Radio also had its power before the advent of televised presidential debates, as President Franklin D. Roosevelt showed when he was nominated for an unprecedented third term. Although the presidential campaigns were fought in the pages of newspapers across the nation, Roosevelt decided to bypass them and speak directly to the voters through a series of radio broadcasts that became known as his “fireside chats.”
Through the unprecedented use of radio broadcasts, Roosevelt won a decisive victory over Republican Wendell Willkie and became the first and only president to exceed eight years in office with a third term in office.
