9 Million Call for Carter on 'Dial-a-President'

On this day in 1977, Democratic President Jimmy Carter took a flyer into what decades later would emerge as politically themed social media by participating in a CBS radio program called “Dial-a-President.” (His official papers refer to the show as “Ask President Carter.”)

Walter Cronkite, who anchored the “CBS Evening News” from 1962 to 1981, thought up the program. After a 20-minute practice session, the president and the anchorman went live on the air. With Cronkite serving as the program's host, Carter, seated at his desk in the Oval Office, answered questions and fielded comments from callers throughout the country.

 

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