Watch out for negative ads this month,
and check out greedytv.org
by Ed Wojcicki

I continue to have an interest in what people generally call "negative advertising." Two years ago, I tracked ads run by the gubernatorial candidates and the legislative candidates in targeted races. Later I wrote a three-page essay about the pros and cons of such political communication.

We have no statewide Illinois races this year, but some targeted legislative races are generating plenty of heat. So I encourage you once again to send me copies of fliers or mailers that are negative in nature, particularly those that attack opponents. Send them to me in care of Illinois Issues, UIS, P.O. Box 19243, Springfield, IL 62794-9243.

Kathleen Hall Jamieson has a new book out with some conclusions that might surprise you. It's called Everything You Think You Know About Politics ... And Why You're Wrong. Jamieson, dean of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, has been tracking political advertisements for years.

She writes about media bias, the value of debates and her conclusion, contrary to that of many scholars, that negative advertising does not depress voter turnout. It's a debatable point, to be sure.

It's always been my belief that not all "negative" political communication is bad. Candidates have to distinguish themselves from their opponents, and one way to do that is to compare character, experience and positions. What is an anathema, in my view, is candidates resorting to lies, distortions and partial truths that misrepresent themselves or their opponents.

One point Jamieson raises is that the amount of distorted or misleading ads in the 1996 presidential election increased substantially over what was printed and broadcast in 1992. I hope the trend does not get even worse this year.

"Everybody Hates Political Ads. Except Your Local Television Station." So blares an ad run by the Alliance for Better Campaigns, which is trying to convince television stations to devote more time to serious news coverage of political campaigns in their communities. The irony is that a number of incumbent officials are not eager to spend a lot of time on free television answering questions. They prefer to spend money on carefully scripted ads. So is the problem the TV stations or the candidates? Or both? Check out www.greedytv.org for more information.

Illinois Issues October 2000 | 3