Study: Political Ads Dwarfed News Stories About Actual Political Issues in 2014

In the last two months of the 2014 midterm campaign, ads on local television news flourished, and stories about political issues paled in comparison.

TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA - 2015/02/28: Turning on or turning off a television TV set using a control remote.
Photographer: Roberto Machado Noa

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By David Knowles

March 19, 2015 at 4:01 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Politics has become all about the ads.

A new study by Philly Political Media Watch finds that during evening newscasts leading up to the 2014 midterm elections the airtime given to political ads dwarfed stories about political issues by a ratio of 45:1.