Monday, October 16, 2006

On TV, It's Politics As Usual

BusinessWeek | Jon Fine:
“As of September 24, according to media tracker TNS Media Intelligence (TNS), all political spending on broadcast TV was $710 million, which nearly triples 2004's non-Presidential TV spending. Web spending through July, the most recent figures available: $1.7 million.”
Ed Cognoski responds:

Is local television reaping the local political advertising dollar, too? I checked out Dallas Blog to get a clue. The banner ad at the top rotates among six ads: two for issue advocacy (water rights, Robin Hood), one public service (Veterans' Day parade), one for a state university (Texas Tech), three for local businesses (a dentist, an industrial controls supplier, and a hot dog vendor), two for other news media (D Business Journal and D Magazine) and two for candidates for elective office (David Lewis and Susan Rankin).

Are Judge Rankin and Judge-wannabe Lewis showing their Internet savvy by advertising on the Web? Or are they so strapped for cash that they cannot afford Channel 8? It may be telling that David Lewis' banner ad is the only one run by Dallas blog that is not an active link to a Web site. If he has a Web site, Google didn't list it on the first page of hits. So, I'd guess cash poor, not Internet savvy.

Like most Internet surfing, my original search raised new questions. What's with all those D Magazine ads on Dallas Blog? Is there more of a relationship there than just banner ad seller and buyer? Perhaps a reciprocal agreement to promote each other? Not if the banner ad on Frontburner is any indication. Sewell Cadillac seems to have that space sewn up. The fact that Frontburner attracts the luxury car advertisers and Dallas Blog attracts the hot dog vendor maybe says more about the pecking order than Tom Pauken and Scott Bennett would like.

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