Nixon and Kennedy were allowed an eight-minute opening statement in their debate. "That's an eternity in broadcast"

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Nixon and Kennedy were allowed an eight-minute opening statement in their debate. “That’s an eternity in broadcast”

Bill Wheatley on presidential debates, how they’ve changed, and how they should

The commission has gradually tried to vary the format. The concept of a town hall debate for undecideds is pretty well institutionalized, and the commission has had some success in making the formats less rigid. There are no more opening statements, which were very predictable. I was looking at something the other day that said Nixon and Kennedy were each permitted an eight-minute opening statement.

Simon Owens is an assistant managing editor at U.S. News & World Report. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+. Email him at sowens@usnews.com