Conventions Enter America's Living Rooms.

With television cameras running, Taft made his first entrance into the convention hall. But it was an experience he would have rather missed. Frenzied, banner-waving supporters rushed Taft in an attempt to get close to the candidate — and, guessed Taft, in an attempt to get on national television. His suit and sense of decorum having been ruffled by the spectacle, Taft snarled, "That is a good example of why we don't have TV at national committee meetings."But despite the annoyance he and many other politicians felt at having the wheeling-dealing aspect of party politics exposed in American living rooms, television arrived on the American political scene as a major force. The three major networks spent ten million on covering the two conventions — both having an estimated viewing.audience of 75 million.

Television's Political Influence.