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The Historical Presidency : Gerald Ford, Saturday Night Live , and the Development of the Entertainer in Chief
Author(s) -
Brownell Kathryn Cramer
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
presidential studies quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.337
H-Index - 5
eISSN - 1741-5705
pISSN - 0360-4918
DOI - 10.1111/psq.12326
Subject(s) - presidency , entertainment , deliberation , power (physics) , politics , narrative , media studies , political science , sociology , art , law , literature , physics , quantum mechanics
On April 17, 1976, President Gerald Ford and his press secretary Ron Nessen appeared on the late‐night television show Saturday Night Live ( SNL ) after much deliberation. Though reluctant to assume the position as entertainer in chief, Ford's appearance on SNL marked a distinctive shift in his communication strategy, as his campaign team attempted to restore the power of the Oval Office through performative politics. Though narratives of the development of the entertainer in chief have focused overwhelmingly on the celebrity presidency of John Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton, this article excavates the place of Richard Nixon and especially Gerald Ford in navigating a shifting media landscape with the tools of entertainment and transforming public perceptions of the presidency in the process.