By David Oxenford on Posted in Political BroadcastingAs we approach Election Day, the political ads seem to be getting more and more frequent, and often more and more nasty. We provided this overview of what a station should do when it gets an attack ad two years ago, and the ads have not become kinder in the intervening period, so we will… Continue Reading
By David Oxenford on Posted in Advertising Issues,Political BroadcastingWith election season upon us again, I’ve had one question that has come up repeatedly in the last few weeks about local candidates – usually running for state or municipal offices – who appear in advertisements for local businesses that they own or manage. Often times, these individuals will routinely appear in a business’ ads… Continue Reading
By David Oxenford on Posted in Advertising Issues,Political BroadcastingFrom time to time, questions come up as to whether it is acceptable for broadcast stations to air ads from a political candidate which do not feature the voice or, for TV, the image, of the candidate. Ads from Federal candidates should almost never be missing the recognizable voice or image, as there are Federal… Continue Reading
By David Oxenford on Posted in Advertising Issues,Political Broadcasting,Programming Regulations,TelevisionAccording to Politico, Ted Cruz’ campaign has demanded that TV stations pull certain PAC ads which he claims distort his voting record on immigration issues. This kind of claim from a political candidate about the unfairness of attack ads is common. Here, Cruz’ representatives apparently don’t threaten lawsuits against the stations for running the ads,… Continue Reading
By David Oxenford on Posted in Advertising Issues,Political BroadcastingAs we move into the final weeks of the election season, and races heat up, there are always issues about attack ads and what a station needs to do when they receive a “take-down” notice from a candidate who is being attacked. We recently wrote about candidate ads, and the “no censorship” provision of Section… Continue Reading
By David Oxenford on Posted in Political BroadcastingHow can political attack ads get away with taking out-of-context statements of the candidates that they are attacking, and twisting these statements to convey meanings that were never intended by the candidate who first uttered the words? And how can political ads take a single line of an incredibly complex piece of legislation and use that… Continue Reading
By David Oxenford on Posted in Political BroadcastingWith the Florida broadcast airwaves overrun with political ads in the last few days – the great majority of them attack ads – many ask why do broadcasters keep running those ads? Of course, there are revenue considerations. But as the attacks get nastier, and perhaps even go against the interest of the station owners themselves,… Continue Reading
