Debating Our Destiny: Presidential Debate Moments That Shaped History

MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, producer of the PBS NewsHour, numerous documentaries and civic engagement projects, is pleased to announce its expansion into e-publishing with the release of “Debating our Destiny: Presidential Debate Moments That Shaped History,” a new line of books and videos. 

“With the move to e-publishing, MacNeil/Lehrer Productions is embracing new technologies to deliver its signature brand of high-quality journalism to new platforms and new audiences,” said MLP vice president Annette Miller, “With the Debating Our Destiny books and videos, we are presenting original content on six different platforms. It’s a natural extension of the work we’ve done every day for 36 years.”

Building off the critically acclaimed documentary series of the same name, “Debating Our Destiny” features former presidential and vice presidential candidates reviewing their debate triumphs and failures in extended interviews with Jim Lehrer, moderator of an unprecedented 12 presidential debates and co-founder of MacNeil/Lehrer Productions.  Together, the documentaries and the newly-published companion book provide a unique and in-depth look at the history of presidential debates and their importance to the U.S. election process.

Hear what presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush thought about the debate process and the critical moments that played out in the press for weeks after their performances.  Discover which candidates thought a debate gaffe may have cost them the presidency.  Find out which former presidents loved debates and which ones hated them.

Enhanced multimedia eBook for the iPad: The Multi-Touch book is available on Apple’s iBookstore and features over 60 embedded videos, including clips from Lehrer’s candidate interviews and memorable debate moments. It also includes interviews with the head of the Commission on Presidential Debates, former moderator/journalists, presidential historians and a video foreword by Jim Lehrer. 

Text-only versions are available for the Kindle, the Nook, and in paperback. 

The DVD set features the re-release of documentaries Debating Our Destiny I (2000) and Debating Our Destiny II (2008), as well the never-before-released full-length versions of Lehrer’s 18 candidate interviews.  Over 8 hours of video on the four-disc set.

Amazon Instant Video.  Digital Download-to-Own version on Amazon Instant Video, featuring the two documentaries and the extended interviews with the candidates.

 

Interviews include:

President George H.W. Bush                                                          Governor Michael Dukakis

President Jimmy Carter                                                                  Vice President Dick Cheney

President Bill Clinton                                                                      Senator Bob Dole

President George W. Bush                                                             Senator John Edwards

President Gerald Ford                                                                   Senator John Kerry

Senator Joe Lieberman                                                                   Vice President Walter Mondale

President Ronald Reagan                                                               Vice President Dan Quayle

 

For more information about the product line, go to http://home.macneil-lehrer.com/debating-our-destiny.

Press Contact:
Anne Bell
(703) 998-2175
abell@newshour.org