Please note additional class discussion question at end of post.
In terms we've been using in class, I'd call CapFax an online niche publication for people who follow Illinois Statehouse politics closely. Miller is pretty much a one-man band, and he serves readers who can't get the detailed information they need from the commercial or "mainstream" media. He also uses fairly advanced technology (alway has - the name "Capitol Fax" comes from a day in the early 90s when fax machines were cutting-edge technology and Miller would fax his newsletter to clients. Now he has moved online, and offers the blog to promote his $350-a-year subscribers' newsletter.
Since it's a blog, he offers his readers plenty of opportunity for two-way conversation - uses the "interactivity" of the 'net in academic terms. So every day he has a "Question of the Day" - usually humorous - to stir up interest. Today's question was< "Looking back over the past year, what were the campaign moments that will most likely stick with you as you get older?" And one of the best answers was this (scroll down to 1:38 p.m. [they're posted top to bottom in chronological order. We've been talking about Illinois and Alaska, and this brings in evidence from three more states:
- Deep South - Friday, Oct 29, 10 @ 1:38 pm:
Down here in the Deep South, the television market covers four states. That’s four states worth of political commericials on TV….constantly. We get KY, MO, IL and TN. So we get Rand Paul, Jack Conway, Robin Carnanhan, Roy Blount, Joann Emerson, Tommy Sowers, Mark Kirk, Alexi, Quinn, Brady, Madigan, some congressman down in Tennessee,along with variouos amendments and proposition, etc. And in the final days before the vote…we’re getting a bunch of the local candidates on the air.
Geez…they’re all the same…one candidate attacks the other, tries to show the
other as a liar, a socialist, a crime softie or the fact that he or she has some
other evil personality flaw. In fact, you’d think some of these people are
running against a three headed monster named Obama-Polosi-Reid. Can’t really
learn anything about the candidates or what they stand for….but Gawd they’re
spending the money like its going out of style.
Oh, and it seems like
half these guys are either cleaning a shotgun, carrying a shotgun or actually
firing a shotgun (Tommy Sowers, Democratic candidate for Missouri’s 8th CD fires
a shotgun in his ads…in fact, in think he fires it twice in one of the spots.)
Guess you need a shotgun to prove you’re aimin’ to go to Washington.
Same question as Wednesday: What is the cumulative effect of these ads on our overall opinion of politics and government?
2 comments:
The effects of having these kinds of campaign ads are exactly as mentioned. The ads focus solely on what the opposing runners are lacking. And some of these ads focus more on the opposing runners family and personal life, rather than government and political issues. The electors want to hear useful information! Information that can help form our decision. Instead, we have the opposite reaction... we turn the channel or just turn off the television completely because we are annoyed with how childish these elections have become. We now, in time, have learned not to trust the ads and campaign slogans because they are only set to make you hear "what you want to hear", instead of the truth.
These campaign ads that we have been seeing around all the time right now with all the elections coming up. Some of the ads turn us away from the people who are running, they ads are very repetitious and at times do not give us the information that we want to hear on those who are running..we want the true facts and not the blah blah of it all!!
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