History
Franklin D. Roosevelt first began radio addresses as Governor of New York. As president he continued the tradition, which he called his fireside chats. The success of these presidential addresses encouraged their continuation by future presidents.
During a sound check prior to the radio address in August 1984, the then-President Ronald Reagan made the following joke as a way to test the microphone: "My fellow Americans, I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes." The Far East Army of the Soviet Union went on alert for 30 minutes following the test.
Barack Obama used YouTube for regular video addresses as President-elect and since his inauguration the weekly addresses have continued on the White House website, YouTube, and several major television networks.
It has long become customary for the President's Weekly Radio Address to be followed by a "response" (not always a topical response) by a member of the opposing political party. A common complaint about the President's Weekly Radio Address is that only a few radio stations cover the very short broadcasts, they are not advertised publicly, and very few Americans know how to locate the President's Weekly Radio Address on the radio dial.
Read more about this topic: Weekly Radio Address Of The President Of The United States
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Humankind has understood history as a series of battles because, to this day, it regards conflict as the central facet of life.”
—Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904)
“There is a history in all men’s lives,
Figuring the natures of the times deceased,
The which observed, a man may prophesy,
With a near aim, of the main chance of things
As yet not come to life.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Social history might be defined negatively as the history of a people with the politics left out.”
—G.M. (George Macaulay)