Robert J. Donovan and Ray Scherer

s a young reporter for the

Richmond Times-Dis-
patch, Charles McDowell
was one of the first inside
witnesses to television's
impact on politics. sheer chance he observed at the Republi- can National Convention in Chicago in 1952 how people's reaction to what they saw on television influenced political deci- sions-a phenomenon that would pro- foundly change the workings of the politi- cal system.
The Republican convention in 1952 was the first at which te...