Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected president in 1932 and is known for his Fireside Chats. During the time of his Presidency, America was in the Great Depression. To relieve the people from the economic stresses, Rooselvelt came up with a program known as The New Deal. The New Deal put emphasis on three goals for America: relief for the needy, economic recovery, and financial reform. To gain America's confidence back and gain support for the New Deal Programs, Roosevelt chose the most direct way to communicate with his people: Radio. In the 1930's practically every home had a radio in which families would gather around for a source of entertainment. Roosevelt started doing Fireside Chats in which he would address the public concerns in the most personal way he could, four times a year. His talks were said to be relaxing to the people and made it seem like he was talking to them personally. Additonally, these talks informed the people of the actions taken by the U.S. Government,as well as giving President Roosevelt a better relationship with his people. This is a video of one of his many Fireside chats http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXY7TkrPPzI. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/17/obamas-fireside-chats-reg_n_175662.html. As well as informing the people of the decisions made by the government, the Fireside Chats also suggested ideas on how employers, workers and industries could help stabilize the economy. By President Roosevelt directly encouraging the people to help their society, it created a feeling of one large team working together to help the U.S. in a troubling time. In another matter the way a President delivers his message to the people is just as critical as his solutions. http://www.slate.com/id/2212898. Part of the reason Roosevelt was a much loved President (421) was because he was able to enlist the co-operation of the American people by developing a close relationship with them. He would start each of his 30 Fireside chats with "My friends..."and include the term "we" quite often so that would feel that they are part of the Government. When he gave his first Inaugural Address the country was in the middle of the Great Depression, people had lost their life savings, home and a way to eat. He was confident and brave when he stated his famous quote, "This great nation shall endure... We have nothing to fear but fear itself." http://www.presidentialexpert.com/leadership_franklin_d_roosevelt.html.

In comparison, the news today that addresses the Recession doesn't seem to make our society band together as a team. Rather than imploring the public to assist in issues, the news simply states the facts in a rather indifferent manner. Instead of banding together as a country, the people of the United States are pointing fingers at banks, C.E.O.s, Wall Street and both parties of our Government are blaming each other. Comparing Roosevelt's Fireside Chats with present day's numerous news channels, there can be found more significance to his chats considering the lack of communication in the 1930's. In today's news world the people are fed an abundance of useless information. News can be accessed by radio, t.v. and computer 24 hours a day. In the 1930's, however, Roosevelt's radio broadcasts were quite an event and listened to by the country at the same time, making it much more of an event. In addition, Fireside Chats were much more personal than any speech that Obama might be giving to the press. Roosevelt's Fireside Chats were so effective that Obama is said to be starting his own Fireside system.