Obama has aired more ads in Oct., been more negative
President Obama and his allies aired more ads despite being outspent by Mitt Romney and his supporters during the first three weeks of October, according to a study by the Wesleyan Media Project. The study also found that Obama's ad messages were more negative - that is, focused soley on attacking an opponent - than Romney's.
Obama has aired more ads in Oct., been more negative
Thomas Fitzgerald, Inquirer Politics Writer
President Obama and his allies aired more TV ads in battleground states this month than Mitt Romney and his backers, despite being outspent by the Republican nominee and GOP party and PAC groups, according to a study released Wednesday.
The Obama re-election campaign and its supporters spent $77 million on 112,730 advertisements from Oct. 1 to Oct. 21, according to the Wesleyan Media Project, which tracks and analyzes political ad spending nationwide. Romney and friends, by contrast, spent more cash - $87 million – on 15,000 fewer spots.
One reason: the Obama campaign reserved air-time at lower rates earlier in the season, while the Romney campaign pays as it goes, at a premium. Romney’s media strategists believe their approach works best because they have more strategic flexibility and, unlike Obama, they are guaranteed that a particular spot will run during precisely the program they intended because of the rates paid.
The study also confirmed what anybody who lives in Ohio, Colorado, Virginia, Florida or Nevada could tell you: 2012 has blown up previous records for ad spending in presidential campaigns, with 915,000 ads airing during the general-election period, through last Sunday. That’s a 44.5 percent increase over 2008.
“When all is said and done, 2012 will go down as a record-pulverizing year for political advertising,” said Erika Franklin Fowler, a political scientist at Wesleyan University who is co-director of the media project. “What is especially striking is that the ads are concentrated on fewer markets than 2008, meaning that a smaller number of Americans have witnessed the onslaught of messages in the race for the White House.”
Denver, Las Vegas, Tampa, Cleveland, Orlando, Washington, Miami, Columbus, Ohio, Cincinnati, Norfolk and Richmond saw the highest volume of ads in the nation from Oct. 1 to Oct. 21. Experts believe that looking at the number of spots aired is the best way to measure the impact of an ad blitz, because of the differences in price in the different markets based on population.
The academics with the project – from Wesleyan, Washington State University and Bowdoin College – also analyzed the content of the ads and found that the Obama campaign has aired far more negative attack ads than the Romney campaign.
They found that 6.3 percent of the Obama ads were positive, 20.3 percent showed contrasts between the two candidates, and 73.3 percent were negative – or straight-up attacks on Romney and his record.
But 11.9 percent of Romney’s messages were positive, versus 52.1 percent that compared him to the president, and 36 percent that were negative attacks on Obama.
For more details on the study, click here.
I don't blame Obama for negitive ads. Romney just flat out LIES. It's like he can't stop! I would not trust Romney on ANYTHING! How can you? Is it a personality disorder? Does he do it to confuse everyone? Or is it he just doesn't care-that he will say or do anyrthing do get elected and then just put it to the middle class. I don't trust him and will vote for Obama!!!!!!!!— kingofpoker- Smear and fear. It's all your desperate little boy Barry has left. Forward.— bil,l atkins
- In case any undecideds are still undecided:
EXCLUSIVE: CIA operators were denied request for help during Benghazi attack, sources say
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/10/26/cia-operators-were-denied-request-for-help-during-benghazi-attack-sources-say/#ixzz2AQNOKSwY— Mr. Underhill - The piggy bank is busted, the coin already spent. But Obamanomics has this imaginary piggy bank to spread out to all the good libs/dems in the land.
But those who have spent their entire lives working and investing for the future will NOT bow to the order of redistribution. Most of them with the cash will flee elsewhere, the poor will still be poor with NO one to support them.
Enter, redistribute middle-class earnings.
Still think Obama's your savior... think again.— FocusTruthFully - Obama is desperate...and thinks posting snarky, negative ads will give the spoiled child what he wants..Immaturity at its zenith....Oh...and Romney's campaign is fine with their budget and spending..It was Obama who had to borrow $15 Million to continue to spew hate and make idol promises...Does that surprise you??...It is the Obama way..!!..Rob Peter to pay Paul...and forget how you will pay for it...!— Breva
You can reach Tom Fitzgerald at 215-854-2718 or tfitzgerald@phillynews.com.
Reach Thomas at tfitzgerald@phillynews.com.
