Fall TV Lineup Filled with Political Spots

FALL TV LINEUP FILLED WITH POLITICAL SPOTS
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Susan Page]
Though some candidates are experimenting with posting ads on websites and campaign video on YouTube, old-fashioned commercials on local TV stations remain what Democratic strategist David Axelrod calls “the nuclear weapon” of politics. As the Nov. 7 elections approach, viewers across the country face an autumn deluge of campaign ads, especially in places such as Minnesota that have several competitive races. During the local news shows here -- campaigns prefer them on the theory that people who tune in to the news are likely to be voters -- the customary ads for new cars and diet aids have been largely replaced by ones for candidates. On Minneapolis-St. Paul stations alone, more than $7.4 million had been spent by last Friday on ads aimed at shaping the election outcome, according to the media firm TNSMI/Campaign Media Analysis Group, and the most intense three weeks of advertising were still ahead.
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20061019/1a_cover19.art.htm
* Secret Federal Data Allegedly Used in Attack Ad
Information in an attack ad run by Rep. Bob Beauprez against his Democratic opponent for governor was obtained from a federal database available only for law enforcement, Colorado authorities said Wednesday.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-adflap19oct19,1,737318.story?coll=la-news-a_section