What We Do
Since its founding in 2010, the Wesleyan Media Project (WMP) has become the “go to” source for real-time, non-partisan information on the volume, spending, sponsorship and content of political advertising across the United States.
Our goals are to track all election-related advertising by source (group, corporation, union, party, or candidate) and to provide comparative analysis enhancing the ability of journalists, citizens and scholars to hold governments and special interests accountable.
See our latest report here, or read our year-end summaries of campaign advertising in the 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016 elections.
Press Releases
Ad Spending Ramps Up in Florida, Illinois, Ohio
More than $1 Billion Spent in Democratic Nomination Campaign, 30% on Digital (MIDDLETOWN, CT) March 11, 2020 – Voters in four states with large numbers of delegates (Arizona, Florida, Illinois...Presidential Ad Spending Approaches $900 Million
Bloomberg Ad Spending Unprecedented, Tops Previous General Election Candidate Spending (MIDDLETOWN, CT) February 26, 2020 – A new analysis from the Wesleyan Media Project has identified $617 million in spending...Eschewing policy in advertising? Lessons from 2016
(MIDDLETOWN, CT) February 25, 2020 – Michael Bloomberg’s recent political ad, which portrays Donald Trump as a bully, has prompted discussion on social media about the effectiveness of personal...
Team & Partners
Who we are
The Wesleyan Media Project is directed by Professors Erika Franklin Fowler, Michael M. Franz and Travis N. Ridout. The Project Manager is Laura Baum. An outstanding group of students from all three institutions support the project through various activities.
Read MoreThe Data
Press releases
We track all broadcast advertisements aired in presidential, congressional and many lower-level campaigns in real-time. During election years, we regularly post press releases detailing the content, volume and estimated cost of political advertisements.
Read MoreWMP News
News from the project
Check out the latest from our blog featuring a variety of content related to media and advertising analyses including project updates, short commentaries, summaries, links to interesting research and occasional guest posts.
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