Wesleyan Media Project Launched
Offers comprehensive, non-partisan tracking and analysis of major political ads (MIDDLETOWN, CT) Sept. 23, 2010 — Wesleyan University is launching a non-partisan initiative designed to perform...
View Article2010 Campaign Ad Studies Published
(MIDDLETOWN, CT) Jan. 11, 2011 – Two comprehensive studies of the campaign ad trends from the 2010 election have been published by the researchers from The Wesleyan Media Project. “Advertising Trends...
View ArticleProject brings 2012 campaign spenders to light
The Wesleyan Media Project to unveil first analysis of 2012, with new support from Knight Foundation and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (MIDDLETOWN, CT.) Jan. 26, 2012 – Complete with new data on the...
View ArticleMicrotargeting: Not Just for Online Ads
The New York Times featured an article today on the increasing number of campaigns that are tailoring their advertising messages to different demographics over the internet. This tactic – frequently...
View ArticleMedia Focus on Campaign Ad Strategy Amplifies Feeling of Negativity
Positive advertising matters as much if not more than negativity (MIDDLETOWN, CT) Mar 14, 2012 — In the midst of perhaps the most negative presidential primary race in recent history, a new Wesleyan...
View ArticleProject Update: New articles published, ongoing work
2012 Campaign Advertising Volume Crushed Previous Records; Interest Group and Dark Money Analyses in the Works (MIDDLETOWN, CT) Feb. 14, 2013 – Two comprehensive studies of the campaign ad trends...
View ArticleWelcome to the new WMP blog!
Loyal visitors to our website may know that Mike Franz, Travis Ridout and I haven’t always limited ourselves to real-time updates on advertising though that has been our primary activity for the last...
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Why We Should Care About Dark Money Ads
As part of our ongoing focus on interest group advertising and dark money in elections, we are pleased to welcome our first guest post by Conor Dowling (University of Mississippi) and Amber Wichowsky...
View ArticleWhat Matters With Negativity is Timing
There is a lot of talk about negativity in elections, and as measured by Wesleyan Media Project (and Wisconsin Advertising Project) coding, there is much more of it on the airwaves than there was a...
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Wesleyan Media Project Launches New Website on Attack Ads
MIDDLETOWN, CONN. – (October 29, 2014) – Interest group advertising in U.S. Senate campaigns is at an all-time high, and advertising from dark money groups is breaking records. America’s airwaves are...
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2014 Election Studies Published
Evidence about the Involvement and Influence of Interest Group Advertising (MIDDLETOWN, CT) February 6, 2015 – Two comprehensive studies of the campaign ad trends from the 2014 election have been...
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Reducing the effectiveness of group-sponsored advertising through disclosure
This post from Travis N. Ridout was first published at The Blue Review, a journal of popular scholarship in the public interest at Boise State University. Click here for the original post. It used to...
View ArticleVoice and Inequality in Political Campaigns
This summary, by Kathleen Searles, is based on new research just published in the journal Political Communication Is Don Draper Making Political Ads? -- AMC’s popular period drama, “Mad Men,” is set...
View ArticleThe Book is Here!
It’s out! Get WMP’s new comprehensive analysis: Political Advertising in the United States. A resource for journalists, citizens, students and practitioners highlighting trends in political...
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Knight Foundation provides $45,000 in new support
Election campaign advertising by outside groups continues to break records; Knight Foundation provides $45,000 in new support to Wesleyan Media Project to promote more transparency in elections...
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WMP/CRP Special Report Outside Group Activity, 2000-2016
Super PACs dominate 2016; “Dark Money” a consistent but growing presence since 2000; Outside Groups at all-time high in share of ads aired; most groups active in only one election cycle August 24, 2016...
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2016 Post-Election Conference
On December 4 & 5 the Wesleyan Media Project and Department of Government co-hosted a 2016 post-election conference featuring more than 20 prominent political scientists, non-partisan experts and...
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2016 Election Study Published
Wesleyan Media Project shares lessons, analysis from 2016 election cycle (MIDDLETOWN, CT) March 6, 2017 – The 2016 presidential campaign broke the mold when it comes to patterns of political...
View ArticleTracking Political Ads in Smaller Media Markets
Some districts harder to track than others, but not many competitive races are affected (MIDDLETOWN, CT) July 24, 2019 – The Wesleyan Media Project obtains ad data from Kantar Media/CMAG, which...
View ArticleLatest WMP Research
2018 Political Advertising Year-end Summary Published in PS (MIDDLETOWN, CT) September 27, 2019 — New research published in PS by Erika Franklin Fowler, Michael M. Franz and Travis N. Ridout,...
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