David Kluskiewicz

NBC and their Meet the Press team have refreshed political discourse. By offering syndicated audio of the program, they have removed much of the showmanship that makes television coverage of our elected and appointed officials unpleasant and confusing.

The 1960 Kennedy-Nixon debates, the first televised presidential debates, ushered in an era of judgement based largely on visuals. How a candidate looked, how he dressed, and how he moved, all added to our perceptions. This dependence on visuals isn’t limited to politics - it’s present throughout our lives. In Malcolm Gladwell’s book “Blink”, he shows just how many decisions are influenced by visual cues.

The podcast version of Meet the Press has an entirely different feel from the televised show. Guests’ passions shine through, unaided by strong colored ties and energetic arm movements. Even better, empty statements that sound good, but convey no information, stand out like big red flags. This transparency makes for a great listen.

The re-birth of audio is going to drive communicators to focus much more on the content than the theatrics. It’s going to help eliminate a lot of the noise that distracts people from important issues.