Conversational Delivery:

1
Conversational Delivery Jamieson argues that
electrified media allowed speakers to project
their voices more easily. These media also
allowed viewers to feel more intimately connected
to the speaker. So, Speeches became talks (p.
56).
2
Conversational Delivery and its Effects on How we
Perceive and how News Media Cover Public
Officials One might argue that TV and radio
encouraged people to feel intimately connected
with their leaders. This results in less concern
about policies and parties, and more concern
about personal character. Recent Stories from
CNN.com What Does President Bush Keep in his
Pockets? http//www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/11/02/b
ush.pockets.ap/index.html President Bears Soul
with iPod 1 http//www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Music
/04/12/bush.ipod/index.html
3

• Conversational Delivery and its Effects on How we
  Perceive and how News Media Cover Public
  Officials
• One might argue that the intimacy of television
  leads to image-driven campaigns and media
  coverage.
• Some researchers and pollsters even suggest that
  modern voters cant manage issues, so they should
  focus on images when selecting leaders.
• Polls collected in the last few election cycles
  indicate that American voters are interested in
  three qualities in their presidential candidates
  honesty, intelligence, and independence.
• These preoccupations could lead to a media that
  focuses on issues of honesty, intelligence, and
  independence Did Bush/Clinton lie? Is Bush able
  to lead without Cheney? Whos smarter, Bush or
  Kerry?

4
Words Caption Pictures Jamieson argues that
television emphasizes the visual and often
subordinates the verbal. As a result, people
become fixated on the image and not on what is
said about the image. As a result, she says
politicians have become overly concerned with
providing memorable images.
5
Words Caption Pictures--the Effects on Media
Coverage One might argue that the attention
given to the image leads politicians and news
media to focus on how things look just as much as
they focus on the information given in a press
conference, a speech, or a debate.
For example President Bushs recent speech about
the efforts to manage disaster relief in New
Orleans covered a number of important topics,
including his idea for creating an opportunity
zone along the Gulf Coast. Yet, news media were
just as likely to mention his plans for recovery
as they were to mention the fact that he
delivered the speech in his shirt sleeves, or
that he brought his own generators to light the
scene where he delivered his speech.
6
Words Caption Pictures--the Effects on Media
Coverage One might argue that the attention
given to the image leads politicians and news
media to focus on how things look just as much as
they focus on the information given in a press
conference, a speech, or a debate.
Another example Though few can remember what
Gore and Bush said in their first official
debate, many remember that Al Gore wore too much
makeup and that he sighed too often. Coverage of
the debates discussed how the candidates looked
often just as much as what they said.
7
Autobiographical Reference Jamieson argues that
the intimacy of electrified media encourages
people to reveal personal information about
themselves. Politicians dodge accusations of
dishonesty by appealing to their characters.
In speeches, they are just as likely to talk
about their own lives and experiences as they are
to discuss their policies.
8
Autobiographical Reference--the Effects on Media
Coverage One might argue that the frequency of
autobiographical reference in political
speechmaking has led the public and the media to
expect a great deal of self-disclosure from their
candidates
For example Howard Dean, at one point was the
front-runner in the Democratic primaries, but the
media kept hounding him for information about his
wife, a famously shy woman. In the end, he had
to pressure her into an interview with Diane
Sawyer. Sawyer asked extremely personal questions
like, How does it feel, to be the object of all
these jokes? and is religion ever a problem
when raising your children?
9
What Happens When the Old Oratory (Fiery, Formal,
Descriptive) Meets the New Medium? http//www.ame
ricanrhetoric.com/speeches/convention2004/zellmill
er2004rnc.htm