A bit from David Wise's 1973 article on Nixon and the press:
...in Nixon's view television ideally should serve only as a carrier, a mechanical means of electronically transmitting his picture and words directly to the voters. It is this concept of television-as-conduit that has won Nixon's praise, not television as a form of electronic journalism. The moment that television analyzes his words, qualifies his remarks, or renders news judgments, it becomes part of the "press," and a political target.
This article available online at:
http://www.theatlantic.com/daily-dish/archive/2008/09/press-war/211404/
