History

As the role of the media has increased greatly over the last century, so has the importance of Presidential media strategies. Like we saw in the Kennedy and Nixon battle for presidency. It was said that during the presidential debate Nixon was nursing an injured leg and looked tense and uncomfortable while Kennedy looked eased and relaxed. Nixon also was not wearing make-up unlike Kennedy and in the end Kennedy was victorious. From then on to modern days the appearance on television began to play a dominant role in national politics.

In the last election Obama was superior in the appearance department compared to McCain. But not only did Obama look sharp on television, he also had influential artists making hit songs supporting him. Having arguable the best rapper in the world write a hit single promoting his campaign was tremendous in gaining voters. It seems like now whoever wins the media whether it the appearance on television, political television stations and in the music industry, wins the election.

This is a video called "History" by Jay-Z

In this video, Jay-Z obviously endorses Barack Obama. Jay-Z has said that this song was made solely for Obama and its clear that he is promoting a message. In the song he preaches that Obama has made history since he is the first black president that ran and won a presidential election. He promotes this message that you can look into a child's eyes and tell him that they could be president one day. Its not an easy thing but it can happen and Obama is clear cut evidence. The song also shows the progression we have made throughout history. At one point a black person couldn't drink from the same water fountain that a white person would drink from and now we have a black president running the country.

Now if you think about it and ask yourself how many people admire and look up to Jay-Z, the answer is most of the country and some internationally. This song is basically an advertisement for Obama and his campaign. Many people are going to listen to his song and feel more comfortable supporting Obama since arguable the best rapper is preaching good things of him. Blacks in America can relate to Obama and the fact that Jay-Z has such strong feelings for him motivates blacks to register and vote for Obama. So basically Jay-Z has influenced American black communities to be ambitious, to support the Barack Obama's campaign and vote for him. Not only does Jay-Z influence the black community but also the young adults whether there black or white. Croteau & Hoyens believe that "forms of music attract and audience precisely because they promote politically charged, controversial or alternative views. Such music is especially significant because it tends to be much more meaningful to people who listen to it. (Croteau & Hoyens p.256)

Barack Obama's appearance in the media was phenomenal. His face on shirts with progress written on them were worn by everyone from rock stars to adults to young teenagers. The media played a huge role in his campaign and the results show for it.