Media advisory: Debate expert available to discuss presidential primary debates


Mon, 08/03/2015

author

Christine Metz Howard

LAWRENCE – A University of Kansas communication studies professor can discuss trends in presidential primary debates and provide commentary on how candidates perform.

The first primary debate of the 2016 presidential race will be Thursday, Aug. 6, in Cleveland. The 90-minute debate, airing on Fox News, will feature the top 10 Republican candidates.

“This debate is going to be a media spectacle more than an exchange of arguments and ideas,” said Robert Rowland, who has written about presidential debates and the rhetoric of presidents Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan.

In 2013, Rowland published the article “The First 2012 Presidential Campaign Debate: The Decline of Reason in Presidential Debates” in the journal Communication Studies. The article argued the first presidential debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney focused less on policy arguments and more on political theater. Conventional wisdom declared Romney the winner.

Previously, Rowland said debates transformed campaigns only when the candidates made major errors or embarrassing gaffes, such as George H. Bush repeatedly looking at his wristwatch in a 1992 townhall debate or when challengers proved to viewers they had the capacity to be president. That happened in 1980 when Ronald Reagan debated Jimmy Carter.

Both Reagan and Obama gave argumentatively substantive performances, Rowland said. While Reagan established he had the credentials to be president, Obama was criticized for being dull and professorial.

The different reactions point to a public that is less tolerant of complex arguments, Rowland said. It’s a trend that is magnified during primary debates where a large field of candidates, some already prone to theatrics, are competing for limited time.

“A debate like this doesn’t give candidates a chance to explain themselves. And they aren’t rewarded for giving nuanced answers,” Rowland said.  

In his article, Rowland proposes a debate format where each candidate is given a fixed amount of time to talk about a single topic followed by at least three exchanges among candidates. The moderator’s main task would be keeping time.

“They clearly need some alternative format,” Rowland said of the primary debate. “Even with ten it is just totally unwieldy. They would be better off with a series of smaller debates.”

To schedule an interview with Rowland, contact Christine Metz Howard at cmetzhoward@ku.edu or 785-864-8852. If interested in having Rowland provide commentary for a primary debate, please contact us before the debate. 

Mon, 08/03/2015

author

Christine Metz Howard

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