( CNN ) -- You know that a news story has broken through , as we like to say in the journalism business , when Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart start playing it for laughs . In the last few weeks , the dynamic duo of Comedy Central has had a field day with the subject of super PACs , those fundraising machines that can raise unlimited donations to fund political ads , provided that they are not officially affiliated with a specific candidate . When Colbert launched his mock run for `` President of the United States of South Carolina , '' Stewart came on his show to announce that he would head up the `` Definitely Not Coordinated with Stephen Colbert Super PAC , '' swearing that it would have no ties to the friend whose hand he was holding on the set . It 's become an easy talking point that this will be the most expensive presidential race in history , and that super PACs could tip the outcome . But in a special In Depth series of reports , CNN will take a hard look at that conventional wisdom -- exploring what super PACs are , what they do , who funds them , and how much power they really have . These special reports will air daily this week across all our prime-time and daytime television shows -- including `` The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer , '' `` John King , USA , '' `` Anderson Cooper 360Ëš , '' `` Piers Morgan Tonight '' and `` Erin Burnett OutFront '' -- and across all our digital platforms . Super PACs vs. the little guy : Why do you donate ? We will go behind the scenes at American Crossroads , Karl Rove 's conservative PAC that helped launched the trend ( and the conspiracy theories ) . We 'll profile Sheldon Adelson , the Las Vegas billionaire who wrote a $ 5 million check to a PAC that waged a nasty air war against Mitt Romney in South Carolina , helping to pave the way for Newt Gingrich 's stunning primary victory on Saturday . We 'll air an investigation into how super PACs have outmaneuvered a bewildering obstacle course of campaign finance regulations , and given rise to calls for a whole new maze of do 's and don'ts . At the same time , we 'll try to put some much-needed context around a subject that has become grist for knee-jerk partisan rhetoric . We 'll report on how Democrats -- Definitely Not Coordinated with President Barack Obama ! -- are also playing the super PAC game . ( We 'll also profile some `` heavy hitters '' who will be openly supporting the president in 2012 and others who have turned their back on him since 2008 . ) We 'll analyze the controversial `` Citizens United '' ruling by the Supreme Court that sanctioned unlimited corporate and union donations to nonaffiliated PACs , showing how it eliminated some troublesome inequities in the previous financing rules while adding new complexities . We will also look at how much money you need nowadays to run for office at the local , congressional and Senate levels , and at how much politicians stand to make personally while in office and once they leave . As CNN 's team of political reporters and analysts decamps from South Carolina to cover the Florida primary this week , they will assess the impact that money has -- and has n't -- had in this electoral cycle so far . How much did it determine who threw their hat into the Republican ring in the first place and who stayed away ? How different would things be now if Romney and the ( definitely not coordinated ) PAC run by his former aides had n't had millions to savage Gingrich with negatives ads in Iowa , or if Adelson had n't put up his $ 5 million to tear down Romney in South Carolina ? And could money help alter the dynamic of the GOP primary contest yet again in Florida , given the staggering costs of organizing across such a large state and buying political ads in so many expensive local media markets ? For all the hyperventilation about super PACs , we 'll also examine all the ways in which the narrative of this campaign shows that money still is n't everything in politics : the flameout of Rick Perry 's deep-pocketed campaign , the staying power of Ron Paul 's grass-roots movement , the number of times that the `` free media '' of press coverage have shifted the momentum overnight , from the latest debate to the personal scandal du jour . And on CNN.com , we will solicit iReport videos from scores of ordinary citizens across America who have donated $ 50 or less to a political campaign this year and who want to deliver a simple message : This is what I want for my money ! For here at CNN , our aim is n't to take sides or tell you what to think . It 's to give you the news and knowledge you need to make up your own mind -- and the confidence to make your own voice heard .
In an In Depth series of reports this week , CNN explores super PACs . CNN will assess the impact that money has -- and has n't -- had in this electoral cycle . We 'll look at what it costs to launch a campaign and how much you could make if you win .