Presidential ads as nightly news: A content analysis of 1988 and 1992 televised Adwatches

Abstract

For years, scholars have been interested in how the media report political campaigns. Until recently, however, few researchers have focused media attention on how the media cover political ads. In response to the increasing number of ads capturing media and public attention, the researchers conducted a content analysis of 1988 and 1992 televised, presidential adwatches. Findings offer much support for previous research including: adwatches (1) focus on negative ads, (2) portray advertisements more negatively than positively, and (3) usually appear as priority agenda items. An interesting change was found between 1988 and 1992 in the way adwatches are reported. In 1988, adwatches were found mostly as part of routine campaign reports whereas in 1992 adwatches were more prominently featured as the focus of the news story. Findings point to the increasing importance of political advertising as part of news reports on political campaigns.

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