That ringing in your ears isn’t church bells or a touch of tinnitus. It’s the sound of campaign cash registers all over the country, chiming together like the world’s biggest carillon, as money pours in as never before. The total being spent for all the races in 2012 is projected at $6 billion this year; possibly rising to as much as $8 billion — which perhaps not coincidentally is the same amount the National Retail Federation estimates Americans will spend on Halloween.
Local TV stations have received millions of dollars in political advertising from outside groups… But with a single exception, there was no local reporting on the cash these groups are pouring into the election, and no fact-checking of the claims made in their ads.
Tim Karr at the media reform group Free Press has just written a report, “Left in the Dark,” revealing that in five cities in swing states, local TV stations have received millions of dollars in political advertising from outside groups like the Koch Brothers’ Americans for Prosperity, Karl Rove’s American Crossroads and the pro-Obama Priorities USA. But with a single exception, there was no local reporting on the cash these groups are pouring into the election, and no fact-checking of the claims made in their ads.
In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, during the two weeks before the recall election against incumbent Governor Scott Walker — when outside money was swamping the state — there was nothing on local news about political ad spending. But there were 53 segments that mentioned Justin Bieber, the Canadian singer who has countless young fans but to the best of our knowledge has not yet established a super PAC.
To be fair, some stations are doing some form of due diligence — local stations in Denver, Orlando, Phoenix, Dallas and Minneapolis, for example, are attempting to fact-check political ads running on their air. But they’re overwhelmed, and the media giants that have taken over most of our TV have been able to ignore their public obligations with impunity. Free Press and other media watchdog groups do their best, and your involvement is essential if they’re to keep reporting what the most of the press — especially local TV stations — will not.
The recent FCC decision to insist that stations place online public records of political ad buys was an important step toward transparency. But even after Election Day has passed, pressure has to continue on Congress, the IRS, the FCC and the Federal Elections Commission — despite its current, weakened and feckless status. Dark money has to be dragged, kicking and screaming, into the light.