Buying influence.

So, who is paying to influence Arkansans?

A recent look at the public files at Little Rock's four network television stations showed that several political organizations are paying top dollar for airtime.

Each television station must keep records of political advertising available for public consumption thanks to the Communications Act of 1934. Combined, Little Rock's TV stations have raked in almost $1.4 million since January. Not bad for a year without any elections.

The net amounts received by each station are:

* KATV, Channel 7, about $570,000;

* KTHV, Channel 11, about $530,000;

* KLRT, Channel 16, about $150,000; and

* KARK, Channel 4, about $130,000. (KARK's file was not complete in that a stack of papers was available for perusal, but the data were not yet filed in a way that allowed "Outtakes" to understand it.)

The ads are buying time for advocacy groups supporting and opposing several causes. The groups primarily aired spots involving climate change, the Employee Free Choice Act and the current health care debate raging in Washington, D.C.--issues in which conservative Democrats like those in Arkansas' congressional delegation are considered key votes.

The advertising agencies buying the airtime are primarily from out of state, with the exception of CIRW of Little Rock, which placed ads opposing the EFCA. Despite the historic presidential election, Arkansas saw little political advertising in 2008, and the current batch of ads came as a surprise to several of the state's television executives.

"You know, it's crazy," said Mark Rose, KATV's senior vice president and general manager. "This, obviously, for our market is a surprise.

I don't think anyone anticipated it." The groups have bought 1,627 spots --of varying length--on KATV alone.

The single-largest ad buy on KATV brought in about $80,000 for the ABC affiliate. Orion Media bought the ads for a group called the Employee Freedom Action Committee, which opposed the EFCA.

The increased spending has come throughout the year as different bills have taken center stage in Congress. The ad spending in Arkansas shows that Arkansas' legislators hold positions key to the debates, said lay Barth, a political science professor at Hendrix College in Conway. Orion also bought similar amounts at the three other stations.

"I think it's pretty clear that Arkansas' members of Congress have become swing votes on this variety of issues," said Barth, of Little Rock, who is running for the Arkansas Senate as a Democrat in 2010. The ads, if effective, should cause constituents to call their members of Congress, he said.

The comparatively cheap advertising rates in Arkansas, when compared with larger markets, also allow advocacy groups to get a bigger bang for their buck, Barth said.

Whatever the reason, the recent advertising push by the various groups has been welcome--especially when compared with last year's low totals. Since Sen. Mark Pryor had no challenger last year, few dollars were spent. Statewide campaigns traditionally result in the largest media blitzes for local television stations.

"For us, it has been a good year," KLRT General Manager Chuck Spohn said. "Last year was OK, but it wasn't great." Many of the political ads from last year were for local campaigns, Rose said. However, next year could be robust. Several Republicans have announced their intentions to challenge Sen. Blanche Lincoln. However, as this and last year have shown, revenue from political advertising is not something that can be relied on.

"Just as quickly as it started, it could end," Rose said. However, "It's nice to see a surprise. The unexpected can sometimes be very good."