Includes bibliographical references ([253]-258) and index.

The first presidential debate -- The predebate debate -- Strategy and preparation -- Predebate news coverage -- The debaters -- The questioners -- The productions -- Postdebate news coverage -- The audience -- The future of presidential debates -- Schedule of televised presidential and vice presidential debates: 1960-1996.

"Alan Schroeder sheds new light on every debate from 1960 to the present. From the selection of questioners to the camera angles, from issues of makeup to lighting and stage set, Schroeder shows how decisions are made that influence every aspect of what the audience perceives. The Presidential Debates: Forty Years of High-Risk TV takes readers on a backstage tour, approaching the debates within the framework of the fundamental steps to which TV producers adhere: preproduction, production, and postproduction. Calling upon behind-the-scenes stories from seven campaign seasons, Schroeder illustrates how the live component of the debates, far from diminishing dramatic potential, increases our anticipation - not least because of viewer curiosity to watch one candidate make a grave error and go down in flames."--BOOK JACKET.