Political ads seek place among news coverage

Political advertisements and news reports both try to offer information to voters in hopes of swaying both the faithful and the undecided.

But the types of information they offer differ in their purposes.

"I think voters will definitely be watching the news and advertisements," said Laura Brewington, a UNC graduate student. "I feel like both parties have been effective at mudslinging opinions out there for both sides."

Viewers can turn on any news source, such as CNN or ABC, and look in newspapers for the latest campaign coverage. This coverage often is in competition with political advertisements.

"I don't think that there is much difference between news reports and ads," said Joel Winkelman, a graduate student in political theory. "... Both are based on the assumption that people have short attention spans, and both encourage people to have a shorter attention span."

Philip Meyer, a professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, said he believes political ads are more likely to appeal to the emotional side of the viewer.

"These are effective because you remember the emotion after you have forgotten the facts," he said.

Political ads often are featured alongside news articles in newspapers and on the Internet. There is some worry that viewers might not be able to distinguish between the ads and news reports.

But Joe Bob Hester, assistant professor of advertising in the school, said he is not worried about this happening.

He said that sometimes people design ads to look like editorial material, but that most news organizations are going to make very certain such content is perceived as an ad.

The amount of information being pushed at viewers, especially in swing states such as Ohio, might also set the stage for viewers to confuse the information from political advertisements and news reports.

"From what we know about human information processing, people are very prone to confuse sources of information," said George Rabinowitz, a professor of political science.

Some people find that advertisements appeal more to the average person more than news reports.

"The news is better for the logistics of what each candidate is doing," said junior Brian Draddy.

"Hearing commentary from a certain candidate in an ad on what he is doing is almost better than hearing it from the anchor."

Politicians do not provide a caffeine rush or promise a money-back guarantee, but some say political ads use the same technique as commercial advertisers.

"I would hate to ever call a human being a product, but in a sense that is what they are doing," Winkelman said, referring to the tactics that political campaigns use to get viewers attention.

A group called "Let Us Decide" has put pressure on Viacom, the network that owns MTV, VH1 and Comedy Central, to put political advocacy ads on its channels.

The network's current policy is that it won't allow advocacy ads.

Winkelman said he believes that there is a real market on these channels to connect with the young voters.

Politicians are cramming commentary into all mediums in hopes of securing a last-minute vote, but Draddy said it's mostly in vain.

"People have already made up their minds."

Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.