Daisy and the Art of Going Nuclear: Negative Advertising in Our Politics

New America Foundation
Friday, February 24, 2012
12:00 - 3:00 p.m.

Mudslinging isn't pretty. But research - and conventional wisdom - says negative political ad campaigns work. Indeed, the tone early on in the 2012 contest suggests that accentuating the positive will not be the hallmark of this election cycle. Should that be of concern to us all? Are negative ads corrosive to our political discourse, or are they, in fact, a vital means of informing the electorate? Join us to consider how political messaging has evolved to its current state, as well as its impact on our broader culture. (And yes, we'll be airing many past and current commercials.)

Agenda

12 p.m. - Welcoming Remarks

Andrés Martinez
Vice President and Editorial Director, New America Foundation
Former Los Angeles Times Editorial Page Editor

12:05 p.m. -Tainted Ice Cream Cones, a Furloughed Willie and Swift Boats: The Evolution of Negativity

Robert Mann
Author, "Daisy Petals and Mushroom Clouds"
Manship Chair and Professor in the Manship School of Mass Communication, Co-Director of the Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs at Louisiana State University

Moderator
Michael Duffy
Washington Bureau Chief
TIME magazine

12:30 p.m. - Will This Be the Most Negative Campaign Cycle in History?

Ken Goldstein
President, Campaign Media Analysis Group

Moderator
Michael Duffy
Washington Bureau Chief
TIME magazine

12:45 - Can Clashing Negatives Be Positive?

Jane Mayer
Staff Writer
The New Yorker

Garance Franke-Ruta
Senior Editor
The Atlantic

Ken Goldstein
President
Campaign Media Analysis Group

Robert Mann
Author, "Daisy Petals and Mushroom Clouds"
Manship Chair and Professor in the Manship School of Mass Communication and Co-Director of the Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs at Louisiana State University

Moderator
Michael Duffy
Washington Bureau Chief
TIME magazine

1:45 p.m. - The Art of Dirt-Digging

Michael Rejebian
Co-author, "We're With Nobody"
Partner, Huffman & Rejebian

Alan Huffman
Co-author, "We're With Nobody"
Partner, Huffman & Rejebian

Moderator
Andrés Martinez
Vice President and Editorial Director of the New America Foundation
Former Los Angeles Times Editorial Page Editor

2:15 p.m. - So Why Doesn't Coke Do To Pepsi What Mitt Romney Did to Newt Gingrich?

Greg DiNoto
Partner and Chief Creative Officer of Deutsch New York
Clients include Microsoft, Kodak and Volkswagen

Mike Hughes
President, The Martin Agency
Clients include GEICO, Comcast and Walmart

Moderator
Andrés Martinez
Vice President and Editorial Director of the New America Foundation
Former Los Angeles Times Editorial Page Editor

To RSVP for the event:
http://newamerica.net/events/2012/negative_advertising

For questions, contact Stephanie Gunter at New America at (202) 596-3367 or gunter@newamerica.net