Kathy DeNiro, age 14, of Laconia, N.H., for her question:

WHEN WAS TV FIRST USED TO COVER A PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN?

There isn't a single part of a modern presidential campaign that is missed by the television camera. All the way from the primary elections through the nominating conventions and the campaign itself, a complete visual picture is sent to TV sets in every part of the world.

Although NBC didn't make the first regular television broadcast in the United States until 1936, it was in 1932 that members of the Democratic National Committee made an appearance on an experimental broadcast that was conducted by that network.

And then, in 1940, the 22nd Republican National Convention was covered by television cameras in Philadelphia. The nominee, Wendell Wilkie, had the honor of being the first presidential candidate to have his nomination televised. He lost the election that year as Franklin Roosevelt went on to win his third term in office.

The broadcasting of television came to an end in 1941 when the U.S. entered World War II. All TV broadcasting was suspended until after the war ended in 1945.

In 1951, the first coast to coast telecast was made. President Harry Truman was shown opening the Japanese Peace Treaty Conference in San Francisco, Calif.

National presidential politics and television finally got together in a big way in 1952. That year, both the Republican and Democratic national nominating conventions were televised. All of the networks used the same picture although each supplied its own reporters.

In 1952, political conventions were televised to viewers in 34 states. It is estimated that 70 million people watched the action that year. Four networks covered the big story.

The first debates between presidential candidates occured in 1960 when John Kennedy and Richard Nixon met each other in a series of verbal matches. Many people believe that the televised debates made a vital contribution to Kennedy's win in the 1960 election.

In TV's first national convention coverage in 1952, the nominees were Dwight Eisenhower and Adlai Stevenson. Dwight Eisenhower went on to win the election.

Television continues to play an important part in national politics today, and also comes into the lives of most people.

Although man learned how to send communication signals through the air as electromagnetic waves during the 1800s, it wasn't until 1929 that Russian born American scientist Vladimir Zworykin demonstrated the first practical television system. Philo Farnsworth, a 16 year old American boy, helped the cause when he developed an electronic scanning system in 1922.

We've come a long way since then.