From George Washington to Trump, inauguration coverage is changing as technology evolves

Millions of people across the country are expected to tune in to watch President-elect Trump’s second inauguration. Television networks, online publications and social media are preparing for the event. The way inaugurations are presented to the public has changed dramatically over the years.

“We must think big and dream bigger,” Trump said in his first inaugural address in 2017.

Tens of millions of people watched his first speech live on television and online streaming. But inaugural addresses and speech analysis are not always immediately available. In 1789, George Washington was sworn in for the first time, and his speech was not made available to the public until days later.

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Thomas Jefferson became the first president to give his inaugural address in a newspaper on the same day as his speech in 1801.

James Polk was the first president to have his speech reported by telegraph. This was also the first time that the Illustrated London News showed speeches in newspaper illustrations.

For the next 12 years, painting remained the primary visual at the inauguration, until photography became used more frequently. James Buchanan was the first president to be photographed while taking the oath of office. It would be another 40 years before film was used to document the inauguration for the public.

William McKinley was the first president to appear on movie cameras during his 1901 inaugural address.

James Buchanan was the first president to be photographed while taking the oath of office. (Library of Congress)

In 1921, Warren Harding was the first person to personally address an inauguration crowd from a loudspeaker. Four years later, Calvin Coolidge became the first person to have his inauguration broadcast nationally via radio. The White House Historical Association estimates that more than 23 million radio listeners listened to his 1925 speech. Herbert Hoover held the first multimedia inauguration. His 1929 speech was the first to be recorded in a sound newsreel.

“This is God’s dedication and devotion to the highest office, to serve our people,” Hoover said in his speech.

After World War II, more and more Americans purchased televisions for their homes. By 1949, nearly every major city had at least one local television station, and 4.2 million American households had televisions. Harry Truman became the first president to broadcast his inauguration live that year. More than a decade later, John F. Kennedy broadcast his color speech to the approximately 500,000 Americans who owned color televisions.

Kennedy famously said in his inaugural address: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”

Reagan sought to bring the pageantry of an inauguration to Americans across the country. His inaugural committee hosted approximately 100 satellite inaugural balls, which were broadcast in 32 cities.

Americans used to wait days to read the president’s inaugural address in the newspapers. Today, the event can be broadcast live around the world. (Associated Press)

“Nearly 200 years ago, at the first inauguration, people came in stagecoaches. This time, people all over the United States, millions of people, attended the inauguration via satellite,” Reagan said at the Washington Hilton Said at a dance in the hotel.

More than a decade later, Bill Clinton’s second inauguration in 1997 was broadcast live online. Just a year ago, Clinton signed the Telecommunications Act of 1996 at the Library of Congress.

“Ten years ago, the Internet was the mysterious realm of physicists; today it has become a common encyclopedia for millions of schoolchildren,” Clinton said in his inaugural address. “As we look back on this remarkable century, we may Ask, ‘Can we hope to not only match, but surpass, America’s achievements in the 20th century?'”

With the development of the Internet, the use of social media has also expanded.

“We have always understood that when times change, we must change,” said Barack Obama in his second inaugural address in 2013.

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Obama is the first president to join Twitter. His 2013 speech generated more than 1 million tweets. At that time, about 51% of Americans owned a smartphone, according to the Pew Research Center. When Trump was sworn in in 2017, that percentage rose to 77%. Cell phone operators installed out-of-cell antennas in front of speeches for large crowds, who will share photos and videos of the day’s events on social media.

When Joe Biden delivers a speech in 2021, his inaugural committee will rely on technology in nearly every aspect of the event. The coronavirus pandemic has forced much of Biden’s celebrations to move online.

“The world is watching all of us today,” Biden said in his speech. “So my message to those outside our borders is: America has been tested, and we are stronger because of it.”