The Wesleyan Media Project tracks negativity in political advertising, and you'll be happy to know, it's not your imagination. This year is worse than ever before...
"Citizens are seeing many more ads this year, but it is no longer simply the number of ads on the air that are making this campaign feel more negative. More than half of all ads are pure attack ads, and if we include contrast spots, roughly 2 out of every 3 ads on the air are negative.” said Erika Franklin Fowler, assistant professor of government at Wesleyan University and co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project. Negative ads mention only the candidate being attacked, while contrast ads mention both a favored candidate and his or her opponent. "Every year there is speculation about unprecedented levels of negativity, but at least in comparison to recent campaigns, we can now confirm the speculation this year is correct,” Fowler continued.
But today, Election Day, those ads will blissfully end. Bridget and I have actually chosen our radio stations this week based on the least number of political ads. And the TV has been off, period. Can I just once again thank the Supreme Court for their wonderful wisdom in the Citizen's United ruling? This is the new normal. Unlimited money, unlimited negativity.
