TELEVISION NEWS AND TELEVISED POLITICAL ADVERTISING: by Thomas E. Patterson and Robert D. McClure Department of Political Science Prepared for delivery at the National Conference on Money and Politics, sponsored by the Citizens Research Foundation, John F. Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C., February 27-28, 1974. Authors' permission not required to quote or summarize results. However, authors' permission required before data in tables may be reproduced or used extensively. The research presented here was conducted under National -2 SUMMARY This paper presents some of the first, systematic evidence on the voter impact of television news and televised political advertising. Based on a careful monitoring of the television exposure of more than 600 voters during the 1972 presidential election, the paper focuses on the relative contributions of television news and advertising to voters' awareness of candidates' issue positions. The paper concludes with several recommendations for improved use of television in American political campaigns. Results of the analyses indicate that: *Exposure to television network news had only minimal *When impact due to television news exposure existed, *In contrast with television news, exposure to televised *The effects of political advertising were clearest among *Television news had minimal effects because it simply *The format of television news is an obstacle to The brevity of its linkages of events with candidates' issue positions. Rapid presentation Based on these findings, recommendations for improved use of television in American politics include: *Networks should reduce their coverage of campaign " activity and "pseudo political events. These -3 stories contain almost no useful information, and viewers appear bored by them. Survey evidence indicates voter preferences for more issue coverage and candidate interviews. *Networks should provide in-depth coverage of fewer stories rather than continuing their superficial coverage of many stories. This format would enhance voter learning. *Because televised political ads are highly effective 29-801 0-74—App.— -9 SECTION I. -4 TELEVISION NEWS AND TELEVISED POLITICAL ADVERTISING: by Thomas E. Patterson and Robert D. McClure We have no accurate measure . . of the impact of political broadcasting on voters. Yet most informed people believe that the impact is profound, and there is no question that political strategists and political candidates increasingly mold their campaigns around the use of television. Report of the Twentieth Century INTRODUCTION Although most Americans say they rely primarily on television for information during presidential campaigns, the surprising fact is that little is known about the impact of political television. Herbert E. Alexander, director of the Citizens Research Foundation and formerly executive director of the Presidential Commission on Campaign Costs, has written that "social scientists using modern techniques have not really told us what we want to know about the * The research presented here was conducted under National Science Foundation grant GS-35408, Robert D. McClure and Thomas E. Patterson, principal investigators. The support of the Foundation is gratefully acknowledged. We would also like to acknowledge the assistance given us by Richard Ender, our principal assistant, and by the following assistants who aided in the preparation of the paper: Helenanne Robertson, Donald Hough, Cindy Ludvigsen, and Karen Colburn. -5 (pages 6 and 7 do not exist) impact of television on politics...Much more is known about the effects of advertising on consumer behavior than about the impact of political communication--whether presented as news or as direct advertising--on voter behavior." This paper presents some of the first available evidence on the impact of television news and televised political advertising on voters. It focuses on the mass media's contribution to voters' awareness of candidates' issue positions during the 1972 presidential election. Our major conclusions are the following: *Level of exposure to television network news had only *Level of exposure to televised political advertising had The remainder of this paper is divided into four sections. Section II contains our methods and procedures. Section III presents our findings. Section IV discusses and interprets these findings. Section V contains our recommendations for improving the use of television in American political campaigns. The reader who has no interest in the procedures and technical aspects of our findings is advised to skip to the summary of Section III and begin reading the paper there. |