Candidates put bucks into media campaigning

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    By Krystal Baker

    As the elections draw near, candidates begin spending big bucks; thousands upon thousands of dollars are filtering into the media market.

    The Howell campaign recently unveiled four 60 second radio spots and three 30 second television ads at a press conference. They released these media spots weeks behind the Hatch campaign ads.

    By releasing the ads, campaigns hope to see large dividends in the form of voter support in return for their dollars spent, said Paul Boehm, communications director for the Howell campagin.

    “Hopefully the dividends will bring momentum, and show people we are in this and we do care,” Boehm said.

    But as the ads are released, media experts like Max Frankel, former executive editor for the New York Times, wonder how many media consumers will view these ads, and speculate the degeneration of political coverage.

    “After all, the numbers of hours profitably devoted to reporting and analyzing the election of CBS’s Survivor – even on rival networks already surpasses all the political news you are destined to hear before November 7,” Frankel wrote in the October 2000 issue of Columbia Journalism Review.

    Analysts of the conventions are compelled to behave like fashion reports, interpreting the body language of the candidates, Frankel wrote in the article.

    Boehm said he wishes more free broadcast time were available to political candidates. But he also realizes the profit loss for television stations that do so.

    “It comes down to the public who desire less than quality,” Boehm said. “They want to see people fighting and taking punches.”

    Despite the cynicism about the cynicism, the media remains an integral part of the political campaign. And working with the media can be tricky, Boehm said.

    “We live in a country where the media is considered liberal, and in a state where the media is considered conservative, which creates an interesting situation.

    “The media has to do their own pandering,” Boehm said.

    And for races between strong incumbents and not as well known opponents, it creates an even more complicated situation.

    Heather Barney, press secretary for the Hatch campaign, said that political advertisements are important part of modern campaigns.

    “You can get your message across the board. For Orrin Hatch, it’s a way to let people know what he is doing in Washington,” Barney said.

    Boehm said that for the Howell campaign, ads must be worth the money.

    “It is especially important because we don’t have a lot of money to spend. It’s important that we are clear, and that people can best see our message,” Boehm said.

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