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Alan Schroeder, a 1972 Valley Center High School graduate, holds the second book he has written. It is titled “Celebrity-in-Chief: How Show Business Took Over the White House.” (Photo by Larry W. Smith)
VC grad writes second book
By Amy Jay
Last Updated: April 29, 2004
Alan Schroeder is an uncommon American. Unlike many U.S. citizens, he has been looking forward to this year’s presidential race.
Despite the barrage of negative advertising and endless speculation about who will be the next commander in chief, the campaign gives him an opportunity to promote and discuss his book, “Celebrity-in-Chief: How Show Business Took Over the White House.” The book was intentionally released during a presidential election year.
“I hope as the campaign goes on, there’ll be more opportunities to talk about it,” said Schroeder, a Valley Center High School graduate.
He appeared on Fox News Channel’s “The O’Reilly Factor” last week. He also spoke with Melissa McDermott for “Up to the Minute,” the overnight news broadcast on CBS. McDermott, a former KSNW Channel 3 anchor, was known as Melissa Beck in Wichita.
Schroeder is well-trained for his media appearances. He is a former newspaper and broadcast news reporter who teaches journalism classes at Northeastern University in Boston.
College instructors are encouraged to research and produce projects for publication. Schroeder completed his first book, “Presidential Debates: Forty Years of High-Risk TV,” in 2000.
He became interested in presidential debates when he was working on his master’s degree at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. He received a degree in public administration in 1989.
“My first book came out in 2000 about the presidential debates--the history of the presidential debates--which is something I got really interested in in grad school,” he said. “And then this kind of came out of that as well just because the debates were all about performance of the presidents, and so this kind of deals with some of those aspects.”
Schroeder needed three years to write his second book because he wasn’t working on it full time.
“You’ll do a little bit here, a little bit there and then kind of piece it all together,” he explained. “I did actually quite a bit of traveling for this one because I went to all the presidential libraries around the country and, you know, they’re just scattered everywhere.”
Schroeder studied news footage and interaction between presidents and celebrities. He viewed documents and video and took notes. He also spent time at the Library of Congress and the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C.
His trips to entertainment hubs--Los Angeles and Nashville--were especially valuable. He returned to his former state for a visit to Abilene, Kan., the home of Dwight Eisenhower.
Schroeder described Eisenhower as a “pioneer” who was the first to televise press conferences and the first to use campaign commercials. Schroeder said the presidents who were most comfortable in entertainment settings were Franklin D. Roosevelt, a radio personality; John F. Kennedy, who was effective on television; Ronald Reagan, who was trained as an actor; and Bill Clinton, who appeared on Arsenio Hall’s talk show and played the saxophone during his campaign against George H.W. Bush.
Schroeder identified two presidents--Lyndon B. Johnson and the current U.S. leader, George W. Bush--as those who were not at ease with the use of show business.
“It just depends very much on the individual and what they like to do and what their own interests are,” Schroeder said. “One of the other things I talk about is just how much of a fan is each of the presidents? If they’re interested in it and they go to the movies and they love music and all of that stuff, I think that makes them more capable somehow of being performers.”
One element of Schroeder’s research--the realization of how far back connections between celebrities and politicians go--surprised him. Some well-known associations involved Kennedy and actress Marilyn Monroe, and President Richard Nixon and singer Elvis Presley.
However, Schroeder added that ties began to form between Hollywood and Washington, D.C., even during the silent-movie era. Politicians began to recognize the benefits of that type of publicity, he said.
“This has been a trend for almost 100 years now,” Schroeder continued.
He hopes people who read his book will appreciate how important communication is for a president. That part of the job--the ability to talk to the country and make citizens understand government policy--often is taken for granted, he said.
Although some famous people provide large financial contributions for candidates, Schroeder acknowledged that presidents’ fraternization with Hollywood royalty isn’t always wise. After all, Clinton was criticized for the amount of time he spent with entertainers.
“Entertainers can be useful to candidates and to presidents,” said Schroeder, “but there’s a danger that it becomes a little elitist, that they sort of set themselves up as different from the public.”
Schroeder mentioned that singer Michael Jackson visited two previous presidents.
“They made a big deal about that,” he recalled. “Well, of course, today Michael Jackson couldn’t get near the White House. Entertainers live by a different standard, and so I think there’s always a little bit of danger involved in associating with them if you’re a politician because you have to be much more careful about the message you present to people.”
The first President Bush encountered a different problem when he campaigned in New Hampshire with actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, said Schroeder, because Schwarzenegger’s presence overshadowed the publicity Bush was trying to generate.
“It’s a delicate balance,” Schroeder added. “This can backfire in many ways.”
He emphasized the importance of “star quality” in presidents, and he said they will fare better if they learn to present themselves well on camera. He pointed out that former presidential candidate Al Gore was perceived as boring, while voters found Clinton and former candidate Ross Perot interesting, even if they didn’t agree with the men’s views.
“You have such an advantage if you can sell what you’re doing,” said Schroeder. “That is so much of it--even just keeping the audience interested.”
The author is no stranger to that concept. He promoted his first book on “The O’Reilly Factor,” a show that employs Schroeder’s former student who is a producer. Schroeder has appeared with host Bill O’Reilly four or five times, he said.
“He’s all right,” he said of O’Reilly. “I can deal with him. You’ve got to be on your toes, let’s put it that way.”
Schroeder started his career at The Wichita Eagle, where he began working in college. He graduated from Valley Center High School in 1972 and obtained his bachelor’s degree in journalism from Wichita State University in 1977.
Schroeder moved on to KAKE Channel 10 and The Wichita Sun, a weekly newspaper. He was employed by other TV stations in Denver and Boston, and a stint working for the American Embassy allowed him to serve in Quito, Ecuador.
He taught at Ithaca College in New York for five years, and he has been in Boston for the past 10 years. Schroeder is the son of Arlo and Kathryn Schroeder of Valley Center.
He spent last weekend visiting his parents. He has no plans for a third book.
Schroeder said he finishes researching and interviewing and then starts the most difficult part of the process--writing. He figures his journalism training helps since he is accustomed to deadlines.
He is trying to decide whether to proceed with a presidential theme in his books or change direction.
“Whatever you decide, you have to really want to do,” he said, “because you have to live with it for a long time.”
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