Television
He was widely known in the UK for his televised reports on general election results as they were announced on the BBC. He is popularly associated with the swingometer device used in such broadcasts. The swingometer was first introduced in 1955 by Peter Milne, and was later refined by McKenzie and David Butler and used nationally in the 1959 General election for the BBC. At first Butler used the meter, but in 1964 McKenzie enthusiastically took over. He appeared on all BBC election nights from 1955 to 1979, and was later replaced by Peter Snow in 1983 due to McKenzie's death in 1981. Additionally, he introduced and moderated the discussions in each episode of Milton Friedman's 1980 television series Free to Choose.
McKenzie also famously interviewed Lord Hailsham on the BBC programme Gallery in 1963, asking questions on the then recent scandal involving Conservative cabinet minister John Profumo. Hailsham became increasingly fractious as the interview progressed regarding McKenzie's line of questioning, even though Hailsham was strongly critical of Profumo's conduct. Coincidentally, Hailsham died exactly 20 years to the day of McKenzie's death.
Read more about this topic: Robert McKenzie (psephologist)
Famous quotes containing the word television:
“Television is an excellent system when one has nothing to lose, as is the case with a nomadic and rootless country like the United States, but in Europe the affect of television is that of a bulldozer which reduces culture to the lowest possible denominator.”
—Marc Fumaroli (b. 1932)