Pick the Winner
Encyclopedia
Pick the Winner was the title of a half-hour political
television series about the 1952
and 1956
election contests for President of the United States
between Dwight D. Eisenhower
and Adlai Stevenson. It was moderated by Walter Cronkite
.
The 1952 edition was aired from August 14 weekly until the Presidential election on both CBS Television and the DuMont Television Network
. It was sponsored on both networks by the Westinghouse Electric company. It was broadcast on Thursday nights at 9 PM Eastern time except for the special final pre-election edition which was aired on the Monday night before the election on Tuesday.
Various spokesmen for both the Democratic
and Republican
parties
were on hand to explain the positions, and claimed relative merits of, their respective groups. On the night before the election, various correspondents gave their best guesses as to the winner of the presidency and various other major races on a special late edition broadcast from 10:45 to 11 PM Eastern.
The 1956 edition of the program was very similar to the one outlined above, with the except that by this time the DuMont network was out of business and the program was shown solely on CBS as a consequence. This time, the show was seen from 7:30 to 8 PM on Wednesday nights. The final edition of Pick the Winner was broadcast on October 31, 1956. This format was not renewed by CBS for coverage of subsequent presidential elections, although the network continued to provide extensive coverage of later races.
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
television series about the 1952
United States presidential election, 1952
The United States presidential election of 1952 took place in an era when Cold War tension between the United States and the Soviet Union was escalating rapidly. In the United States Senate, Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin had become a national figure after chairing congressional...
and 1956
United States presidential election, 1956
The United States presidential election of 1956 saw a popular Dwight D. Eisenhower successfully run for re-election. The 1956 election was a rematch of 1952, as Eisenhower's opponent in 1956 was Democrat Adlai Stevenson, whom Eisenhower had defeated four years earlier.Incumbent President Eisenhower...
election contests for President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
between Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
and Adlai Stevenson. It was moderated by Walter Cronkite
Walter Cronkite
Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr. was an American broadcast journalist, best known as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years . During the heyday of CBS News in the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" after being so named in an opinion poll...
.
The 1952 edition was aired from August 14 weekly until the Presidential election on both CBS Television and the DuMont Television Network
DuMont Television Network
The DuMont Television Network, also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont, Du Mont, or Dumont was one of the world's pioneer commercial television networks, rivalling NBC for the distinction of being first overall. It began operation in the United States in 1946. It was owned by DuMont...
. It was sponsored on both networks by the Westinghouse Electric company. It was broadcast on Thursday nights at 9 PM Eastern time except for the special final pre-election edition which was aired on the Monday night before the election on Tuesday.
Various spokesmen for both the Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
and Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
parties
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
were on hand to explain the positions, and claimed relative merits of, their respective groups. On the night before the election, various correspondents gave their best guesses as to the winner of the presidency and various other major races on a special late edition broadcast from 10:45 to 11 PM Eastern.
The 1956 edition of the program was very similar to the one outlined above, with the except that by this time the DuMont network was out of business and the program was shown solely on CBS as a consequence. This time, the show was seen from 7:30 to 8 PM on Wednesday nights. The final edition of Pick the Winner was broadcast on October 31, 1956. This format was not renewed by CBS for coverage of subsequent presidential elections, although the network continued to provide extensive coverage of later races.
See also
- List of programs broadcast by the DuMont Television Network
- List of surviving DuMont Television Network broadcasts