Will You Vote With Your Ears?
Over the past few days I've been trying to resolve a tricky scheduling problem. This coming Sunday, ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ TV viewers in Scotland will get the chance to see the four main party leaders in debate in front of a live audience in Aberdeen. At the same time you'll be able to hear that debate on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio Scotland.
The tricky scheduling problem concerned the timing of the TV programme. It starts at 2215, which means we've had to change our Sunday evening radio schedule and provide a short scene-setter programme before the event. Not a major problem, but I thought I'd share it with you.
But this whole simulcast reminded me of one of the first famous political debates to be televised. In 1960, Richard Nixon squared up to John F. Kennedy in front of 70 million television viewers in the U.S. Legend has it that Nixon was recovering from a knee injury, had lost weight, looked sick and refused make-up because it wasn't manly. He was also wearing a grey suit on black & white television and almost blended into the background.
Kennedy, on the other hand, was dressed in black, looking tanned, fit and bursting with energy. Viewers decided that Kennedy won the debate.
People listening to the radio, however, took the opposite view. All they had to go on were the voices, words and arguments of the two Presidential candidates.
Now, this is the stuff of , but it all seems a wee bit too simple to be true. Who were these people listening to the radio, for example? Why did they not have access to television? Was that because of their geographic location or their economic status? And did any of those factors mean that they were more likely to declare the Republican candidate the victor?
Well, I don't know...but this coming Sunday night you can experiment for yourself. Watch the debate on television, but have a radio switched on in the kitchen. Every time you get up to fill the kettle you can compare what you've heard with what you've seen.
Either that or watch the whole thing wearing a blindfold. Just don't let the neighbours see you. That's how gossip starts.
