The BBC opened a television service for the London area in 1936, first broadcasting from Alexandra Palace on 2 November. Widespread access to a medium which could accurately communicate both sounds and images must be assumed to have a considerable effect on political relations. For example, in democratic theory, at least some of the orthodox idea of a representative's role becomes irrelevant in circumstances in which national leaders can be seen or heard in nearly everybody's living room. The early period of mass television did produce observations of ‘Caesarist’ or ‘Bonapartist’ tendencies as politicians sought a direct relationship with the electorate. Harold Macmillan (British Prime Minister 1957-63), Charles de Gaulle (French President 1958-68), and John Kennedy (US President 1960-3) were all national leaders thought to have succeeded by adapting to the ‘television age’. Many people believed that Kennedy had won his narrow victory over Richard Nixon 1960 because his ‘clean-cut’ image in television debate compared favourably with Nixon's ‘five o'clock shadow’.
Early liberal fears of totalitarianism, such as those expressed by Russell and Orwell, tended to assume that television would prove a mighty mechanism for thought control by the established powers. But much research suggested that most people formed the core of their beliefs and values at an early stage of their lives through family influences and were capable of treating television very selectively, paying close attention only to ideas and evidence which confirmed their existing views. Counter-arguments have suggested that television is more important than this because it does tend to structure images, agendas, and beliefs in various ways, and that those ways function generally to support acceptance of the status quo.
By 2000, televisions could be used for interactive games and as sources of written information. People could watch video tapes which they themselves chose and controlled. These technical developments changed the context of television and power, and downgraded debates about whether legislatures should be televised since so few people were likely to watch them. Satellite television and internet sources have weakened governments' ability to manage news distribution, weakening national restrictions on what people can see, hear, or read. TV stations such as CNN and Al-Jazeera have provided international access to pictures of the Gulf and Afghanistan wars, thwarting government attempts at censorship and news management. (See also mass media, Internet and politics.)
— Lincoln Allison
