“There is no democracy without elections. And there can be no elections without the press.” Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin made this declaration in a world of print and radio, long before today’s era when Twitter consistently breaks news faster than the New York Times. Nonetheless, Goodwin’s observation still holds true, and the quote invites visitors into the entrance of the Newseum’s newest exhibit, “Every Four Years: Presidential Campaigns and the Press.”
On display until 2013, the exhibit provides a refreshing break from the constant bombardment of election predictions by looking backward. Chronicling a history of presidential campaigns and the media coverage that shaped them, “Every Four Years” brings visitors on the campaign trails of presidents past, and introduces them to the different tactics used by politicians and the press in the race to the White House.
Pleasingly straightforward and easily accessible, “Every Four Years” begins with a look at the birth of newspapers and their influence on William McKinley’s Front Porch Campaign in 1896. From newspapers, the exhibit quickly jumps from radio to television to the age of the Internet to showcase how rapid advances in technology have changed the face of presidential campaigning.
Though a relatively short exhibit—it only spans two rooms of the massive Newseum atrium—”Every Four Years” succeeds in balancing brief but informative blurbs with multimedia features and, most interestingly, cool campaign paraphernalia. Highlights include JFK’s debate notes, which are displayed next to a ‘60s-era television playing clips of the first televised Nixon-Kennedy debate. The exhibit also brings Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s famed fireside chats to life with a prominent display of the large, metal microphone the president spoke into.
Besides these and another 120 artifacts housed in the exhibition, a special subsection of “Every Four Years” focuses on humor as news. Saturday Night Live costumes from the 2008 Palin-Clinton skit famously played by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, combine with Stephen Colbert’s Doritos jacket to highlight the rising impact of parody in presidential elections.
The role of the press in campaigns is further explored in the exhibition by looking at the media’s unparalleled role in shaping a candidate’s image. And with displays on political scandal and “selling the spouses,” “Every Four Years” appeals to more than just political diehards. The small exhibit is rounded out by a film feature in the Newseum’s Big Screen Theater that compiles some of the most effective and provocative political ads in television history.
The impact of technology is reflected throughout the exhibit as interactive features show how political campaigning and public involvement in elections have changed. Most notably, the exhibit concludes with a polling booth, where visitors are asked to vote on who they think will win the upcoming election. This feature not only allows visitors to see how other Newseum-goers weighed in—currently with 60 percent for President Obama, 19 percent for Mitt Romney, nine percent for Ron Paul, and eight percent for Rick Santorum—but it also opens a virtual dialogue as visitors are encouraged to leave their name, hometown, and comments about the election.
“Every Four Years” brings a fresh perspective to the art and history of packaging the president. Running in a time when the media is saturated with campaign updates, the Newseum’s newest exhibit brings a powerful timeliness and sense of living history to its visitors.
