Television Election Coverage Increased before Election but Ads Dominated Airtime

The Michigan Campaign Finance Network along with the Joyce Foundation released numbers last week showing that while television election coverage increased in the final month before the November 7 election, paid political advertisements continued to dominate the airwaves. The numbers, examining the month of October 7 to November 7, show that in the Michigan markets of Lansing and Detroit, election coverage took up around a minute and a half of each newscast, with the average Lansing newscast having one minute and 46 seconds of election coverage and the average Detroit newscast having one minute and 23 seconds of coverage. This coverage was far outweighed by the time devoted to political advertisements, with the average Detroit newscast containing a total of four minutes and 18 seconds of political advertisements. Moreover, when the stations did cover the elections, the coverage consisted primarily of “horserace” coverage focusing on polling, fundraising, and campaign strategy rather than on issues.