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Reducing the effectiveness of group-sponsored advertising through disclosure Blog

Reducing the effectiveness of group-sponsored advertising through disclosure

This post from Travis N. Ridout was first published at The Blue Review, a journal of popular scholarship in the public interest at Boise State University. Click here for the original post.   It used to be that candidates paid for most of the political ads that aired on their behalf. If they were involved in a highly competitive race, their political party might have jumped into the “air war” to pay for some ads backing the candidate. Occasionally, an interest group even waded into the political ads game. But in the past decade, that traditional balance of advertising sponsorship…
2014 Election Studies Published 2014 ElectionsBlogReleasesYear-End Summaries

2014 Election Studies Published

Evidence about the Involvement and Influence of Interest Group Advertising   (MIDDLETOWN, CT) February 6, 2015 – Two comprehensive studies of the campaign ad trends from the 2014 election have been published by the researchers from the Wesleyan Media Project, in addition to a piece on disclosure and campaign ads. "Political Advertising in 2014: The Year of the Outside Group,” by Erika Franklin Fowler and Travis Ridout, and “Interest Group Issue Appeals: Evidence of Issue Convergence in Senate and Presidential Elections, 2008-2014,” by Michael Franz appear in the most recent issue of The Forum: A Journal of Applied Research in Contemporary…
Wesleyan Media Project
February 6, 2015
Ad Spending Tops $1 Billion 2014 ElectionsReleases

Ad Spending Tops $1 Billion

Ad Spending Tops $1 Billion, Yet Ad Volume is Down From the Last Midterm Election Over 600,000 Ads Sponsored by Groups; Almost 40 Percent Dark Money   (MIDDLETOWN, CT) October 29, 2014 – Spending on television ads in federal and gubernatorial races in the 2013-14 election cycle has now topped $1 billion, with an estimated $1.19 billion spent from January 1, 2013 to October 23, 2014 (Table 1). That spending paid for over 2.2 million ad airings. Including other races into the totals—other statewide offices, state representatives, ballot measures and local offices—raises airings to 2.96 million at an estimated cost…
Wesleyan Media Project
October 29, 2014
Wesleyan Media Project Launches
New Website on Attack Ads
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Wesleyan Media Project Launches
New Website on Attack Ads

(MIDDLETOWN, CT) October 29, 2014 – Interest group advertising in U.S. Senate campaigns is at an all-time high, and advertising from dark money groups is breaking records.  America’s airwaves are filled with much more negativity than they were a decade ago.  AttackAds.org, a new initiative from the Wesleyan Media Project, launches today.  The initiative, made possible by funding from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, includes an educational website, a parody ad about negativity and unknown group sponsors, and a short documentary that defines attack advertising, highlights trends in its use and explains its link to dark money. …
Wesleyan Media Project
October 29, 2014
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