The selling of the candidates: this year's presidential election promises to be a squeaker. Could TV commercials affect the outcome?Imagine you are running for President. Public-opinion polls show that the electorate Electorate may refer to:
"Political advertising is the biggest megaphone available for candidates," says Evan Tracey Tracey is a new MMORPG by popular game company Upston. Tracey revolves around a character creating a large building in a 3-d environment. The game has just been released into closed beta and will be in closed beta for an undetermined amount of time. , a campaign media analyst. "Advertising gives candidates the opportunity to be in the most living rooms." According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. recent polls, the majority of eligible voters have already decided to support either Republican President George George, river, c.345 mi (560 km) long, rising in a lake on the Quebec-Labrador boundary, E Canada. It flows N through Indian Lake (125 sq mi/324 sq km) to Ungava Bay (an arm of Hudson Strait). W. Bush or Democratic Senator John F. Kerry Kerry, county (1991 pop. 121,894), 1,815 sq mi (4,701 sq km), SW Republic of Ireland. The county town is Tralee. Kerry consists of a series of mountainous peninsulas that extend into the Atlantic. . A small percentage of the electorate remains undecided. Both candidates are running ads to try to sway these voters. Most of the ads are being broadcast in swing states--states whose electoral votes are still up for grabs. For the first time in history, both candidates are also airing ads in Spanish Spanish, river, c.150 mi (240 km) long, issuing from Spanish Lake, S Ont., Canada, NW of Sudbury, and flowing generally S through Biskotasi and Agnew lakes to Lake Huron opposite Manitoulin island. There are several hydroelectric stations on the river. . "As in the 2000 presidential election, sometimes just moving a small amount of people to vote for you can determine the election's outcome," says Meredith McGehee, an adviser for the Alliance for Better Campaigns. Because news coverage of political campaigns has decreased over the years, candidates have used advertising more and more to get their message out. "That's a problem because the public is not getting an accurate or honest picture of the candidates or the issues," says McGehee. "The best way for a democracy to work is to have an informed electorate.". What to Watch for Ads may be convincing, but they are not always accurate. Here are two types of ads you might see on television before Election Day. Study the approaches, and then decide how they might be misleading--but also effective. * The Virtue Approach--These ads seek to convince voters that the candidate is a patriotic and trustworthy leader. To support such claims, the ads often present romantic images and vague phrases rather than specifics. A Bush campaign ad presents the President as a leader with a "vision for the future" and one who "can move America forward Move America Forward is a controversial, conservative non profit political action group based in California in the United States. Through media-saturation campaigns that include television and radio commercials; [1] lobbying politicians at the local, state, and federal ." These ads say little about the President's plans. What does he intend to do? A Kerry ad shows a clip from his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention: "I defended this country as a young man, and I will defend it as President.... The future doesn't belong to fear, it belongs to freedom." This ad highlights Kerry's military service in Vietnam. But will his experience there help him fix problems the U.S. now faces? * The Negative/Poison Approach--These ads often have no basis in fact. Instead, they try to "poison poison, any agent that may produce chemically an injurious or deadly effect when introduced into the body in sufficient quantity. Some poisons can be deadly in minute quantities, others only if relatively large amounts are involved. " voters' views of an opposing candidate with quotes that have been taken out of context or claims that are unfair. Bush's negative ads describe Kerry's ideas as "wrong," "troubling," or "wacky." They also claim that Kerry has "flip-flopped" on key issues. One of Kerry's negative ads declares that President Bush "says sending jobs overseas 'makes sense' for America." This suggests the President doesn't care about U.S. workers. The harshest ads this year have come from "527s," organizations started by unions, businesses, and wealthy individuals. These groups, which get their nickname (1) An alternate name used to identify yourself in a chat room. (2) A shortcut for identifying a recipient in an e-mail address book. from the Internal Revenue Service tax code, spend unlimited sums to promote their candidate or agenda. The Swift Boat Swift Boat is another term for a Fast Patrol Craft. Swift Boat Veterans For Truth is the original name of the Swift Vets and POWs for Truth. Swiftboating Veterans for Truth and MoveOn.org are two 527s that have aired ads attacking Kerry and Bush respectively. An Educated Viewpoint The next time you see a campaign ad, view it as you would a sneaker or soft drink commercial. Most consumer ads will say almost anything to get you to buy a product. Is a political ad any different? Tracey reminds voters that newspapers, the Internet Internet Publicly accessible computer network connecting many smaller networks from around the world. It grew out of a U.S. Defense Department program called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), established in 1969 with connections between computers at the , and local TV news programs are better tools for learning about a candidate. "Just because something was said on TV doesn't make it true," he says. "It's important to look at these political ads from an educated point of view." write it! Watch a political ad, and then write an analysis of it. How effective is the ad? Did it change any of your views? * OBJECTIVE Students should understand * the importance of television advertisements A television advertisement, advert or commercial is a form of advertising in which goods, services, organizations, ideas, etc. are promoted via the medium of television. in presidential campaigns. * TEACHING STRATEGY Ask students to recall the most memorable political commercials that they have seen on television. Ask: "Do you think such commercials have an impact on the outcome of the election?" * BACKGROUND According to the Center for Public Integrity, "527" groups raised nearly $274 million between April 2003 and August 2004. Progress for America Progress for America is a major political fund-raising and marketing group that supports conservative issues and candidates. Progress for America was founded by Tony Feather, a close ally of Karl Rove, in 2001 as a "527" group, named for a section of the tax code. , one of the most successful pro-Bush groups, raised $20 million in that time. But liberal 527 groups are reported to have raised more money than conservative groups by a 14-to-1 ratio. * CRITICAL THINKING MAIN IDEA: What information can be learned from a "virtue" campaign ad? (Virtue ads seek to convince voters that the candidate is a patriotic, trustworthy, and able leader. Such ads offer romantic images and texts, but few specifics. One pro-Bush ad describes him as a leader who "can move America forward." A pro-Kerry ad highlights his military service during the Vietnam War Vietnam War, conflict in Southeast Asia, primarily fought in South Vietnam between government forces aided by the United States and guerrilla forces aided by North Vietnam. .) MAKING INFERENCES: According to a media analyst, why is it important to look at political ads critically? (Just because a candidate says something on TV doesn't mean it's true, says the analyst.) TO DISCUSS: Do you think negative ads are effective in drawing support away from an opponent? (Answers will vary.) * ACTIVITY MAKE AN AD: Direct students to make a presidential campaign ad that will air on television. Students can work in groups or in pairs to write, edit, and act out an advertisement that would appeal to an undecided voter VOTER. One entitled to a vote; an elector. . STANDARDS SOCIAL STUDIES, GRADES 5-8 * Individuals, groups, and institutions: How campaign organizations and their supporters use political ads to persuade voters. * Civic ideals and practices: How becoming knowledgeable about public issues and debating those issues with others are important forms of participating in a democracy. RESOURCES * League of Women Voters League of Women Voters, voluntary public service organization of U.S. citizens. Organized in 1920 in Chicago as an outgrowth of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, it had as its original nucleus the leaders of the latter organization. , Choosing the President 2004 (Lyons Press, 2003). Grades 7-8. * Donovan, Sandra sandra (sänˑ·dr  ),adj , Running for Office: A Look at Political Campaigns (Lerner Publishing Group, 2003). Grades 5-8. WEB SITES * Alliance for Better Campaigns www.bettercampaigns.org * Study of Political Advertising www.uiowa.edu/~commstud/ resources/pol_ads.html |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion