(Photo courtesy of NBC) “JD Vance and Tim Walz faced off on the first of October, in what was the final debate of this election cycle.”
Maxwell Valin
Connector Editor
This year’s election cycle has almost passed, and with it came three debates—two of which were between presidential candidates, with the other as a face-off between their respective running mates. For years, this format of debate has worked well. In a world where cable television was the primary source of information, as well as the most convenient, it made sense for candidates to get up on stage alongside each other and discuss policy in such a fashion, with news anchors from whichever broadcasting company was hosting the debate present to moderate.
In 2024, however, the world has changed, and cable news is no longer the #1 way to get information in America. I know many people who tuned into cable news stations on television three times this year—and yep, you guessed it, those three times were for each of the three debates. To put it simply, most young people, and many older people as well, no longer look to the major networks (CNN, FOX, NBC, ABC, and CBS) for information. Instead, people are getting their news digitally, and many members of Gen Z prefer long-form podcasts to get information on complex topics. With numbers being on a broad decline for cable news, it seems a sure thing that the format of debates will inevitably change. From this, I believe the best solution would be for candidates in the future to meet on a moderated, long-form podcast of sorts, to discuss the issues facing America and go into detail about their plans to solve them.
There are several objections to this proposition that would undoubtedly be voiced by a certain percentage of the masses—those may include the fact that it’s less convenient, less accessible, and less efficient than the way debates are currently conducted. However, I think that looking forward, it’s not so likely that such things will be the case.
The convenience factor of a 90-minute debate is obviously something that allows Americans to view the event in one sitting, and many people would be less than excited about something like, say, a 3-hour event taking its place. However, in a world where anything can be recorded, saved, paused, and resumed days later exactly where you left off, it’s easier than ever to break long movies, videos, etc. into chunks and complete them at your leisure.
Another reason why long-form podcast debates may be a viable replacement for cable news debates is due to the increasing prevalence and accessibility of the medium. Today, podcasts are hosted on far more platforms than cable news, extending all the way to streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music, and SoundCloud. Even if a longer debate would be inconvenient to sit down and listen to at home, being able to take it with you and listen when convenient would alleviate much of this problem.
Lastly, I truly do not believe that efficiency is a viable argument against longer debates. Politics are nothing if not complex, and more time for candidates to discuss these issues—especially for Americans who aren’t too clear on the details of said issues in the first place—would not only lead to a clearer picture of each candidate but also, a more widely educated populous. Giving a potential President only two or three-minute chunks of time to discuss their entire policy plan for something like immigration, war, or abortion is not room for detailed discussion, but rather, a soundbite that must quickly hit all of the logos, pathos, and ethos it can to sound appealing to the average voter.
2024 is the first election cycle that we are seeing presidential candidates truly take advantage of the podcast as a medium to share their ideas—Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr (to name a few) have all taken time to talk online in long-form discussions with interviewers. Why is it that if this is clearly the more desirable way to get articulation from a candidate, we are still only getting to see them debate in short-form discussion on cable?
