3 min. Karaoke, in English

written, produced, directed, photography and editing by Caterina Borelli © 1992

SYNOPSIS

“One of the 20th century’s most significant public addresses the “ Checkers Speech” was delivered by then-Senator Nixon on September 23, 1952, in a dramatic attempt to answer charges that he abused a political expense fund. The half-hour address was the first American political speech to be televised live for a national audience and was watched or heard by some 60 million people. At stake was Nixon’s place as General Dwight Eisenhower’s running-mate on the Republican national ticket. The audience was the largest ever assembled. Viewed through the prism of Nixon’s roller-coaster career, the speech resonates today largely because of a single passage: the mention of Nixon’s family dog, Checkers. Yet, a 1999 poll of leading communication scholars ranked the address as the sixth most important American speech of the 20th century. The “Checkers” speech wins this high rank for one stand-out reason: It marked the beginning of the television age in American politics.”  The Atlantic, September 22, 2012