Finding the Cost of Campaign Advertising
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Michael G Hagen
Debates about campaign finance often point to television advertising as a major reason for the high cost of campaigning, but the debates are too rarely informed by systematic data on advertising costs. A leading source tracking campaign ads, the Campaign Media Analysis Group (CMAG), offers data about both the volume and the estimated cost of advertising being purchased. Here, we test the accuracy of CMAG cost data by comparing CMAG estimates to records we gathered directly from television stations for five competitive campaigns in the Philadelphia area in 2006. Our findings show that while CMAG is highly accurate in gauging the incidence of advertising, CMAG estimates of the cost were much higher than the actual cost. We counsel caution then in judging the cost of television advertising based on CMAG estimates.
©2011 Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Article
- A Collapse of the Campaign Finance Regime?
- From Bad to Worse: The Unraveling of the Campaign Finance System
- Rethinking the Campaign Finance Agenda
- Decline and Fall? The Roberts Court and the Challenges to Campaign Finance Law
- Rolling in the Dough: The Continued Surge in Individual Contributions to Presidential Candidates and Party Committees
- Internet Fundraising in 2008: A New Model?
- Political Equality, the Internet, and Campaign Finance Regulation
- Financing the 2008 Congressional Elections: A Prospective Guide
- BCRA's Impact on the Political Expenditures of Corporate Interests
- The Interest Group Response to Campaign Finance Reform
- Finding the Cost of Campaign Advertising
- Is That a Bundle in Your Pocket, Or . . .?
- Whither Republican Women: The Growing Partisan Gap among Women in Congress
- Review
- Novak on Novak: A Review of Robert D. Novak's The Prince of Darkness: 50 Years Reporting in Washington
- Bridging Divides through Political Talk: Admirable Goal or Harmful Folly?
- Water Cooler Democracy: A Review of Hearing the Other Side: Deliberative versus Participatory Democracy by Diana C. Mutz
- Review of Richard Skinner's More than Money: Interest Group Action in Congressional Elections
- Review of Samples, The Fallacy of Campaign Finance Reform and La Raja, Small Change: Money, Political Parties, and Campaign Finance Reform
Articles in the same Issue
- Article
- A Collapse of the Campaign Finance Regime?
- From Bad to Worse: The Unraveling of the Campaign Finance System
- Rethinking the Campaign Finance Agenda
- Decline and Fall? The Roberts Court and the Challenges to Campaign Finance Law
- Rolling in the Dough: The Continued Surge in Individual Contributions to Presidential Candidates and Party Committees
- Internet Fundraising in 2008: A New Model?
- Political Equality, the Internet, and Campaign Finance Regulation
- Financing the 2008 Congressional Elections: A Prospective Guide
- BCRA's Impact on the Political Expenditures of Corporate Interests
- The Interest Group Response to Campaign Finance Reform
- Finding the Cost of Campaign Advertising
- Is That a Bundle in Your Pocket, Or . . .?
- Whither Republican Women: The Growing Partisan Gap among Women in Congress
- Review
- Novak on Novak: A Review of Robert D. Novak's The Prince of Darkness: 50 Years Reporting in Washington
- Bridging Divides through Political Talk: Admirable Goal or Harmful Folly?
- Water Cooler Democracy: A Review of Hearing the Other Side: Deliberative versus Participatory Democracy by Diana C. Mutz
- Review of Richard Skinner's More than Money: Interest Group Action in Congressional Elections
- Review of Samples, The Fallacy of Campaign Finance Reform and La Raja, Small Change: Money, Political Parties, and Campaign Finance Reform
