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Pawlenty radio ad rips DFL

Posted at 9:27 AM on March 10, 2008 by Tom Scheck (5 Comments)

Gov. Tim Pawlenty's campaign is running a radio ad ripping DFLers on the transportation bill and other tax increases. The ad fails to mention the eight Republicans who supported the transportation bill.

The ad is also being used a fundraising tool on Pawlenty's campaign website. The website also urges supporters to contact their legislators, write a letter to the editor and e-mail the ad to others.

Comments (5)

Isn't it time to stop giving away free ink every time a new ad comes out? The recent GOP TV ad got far more coverage b/c of its press release than it did when it was aired.

Posted by Bill Lindeke | March 10, 2008 9:53 AM

Bill:

I think posting this on the blog is a bit different than putting copy on the radio since the blog is more "inside baseball." I'm also a firm believer in letting folks know what politicians/parties/etc. are doing .

You are raising a valid point, however, on the difficulty of covering ads. They pay good money for these spots for a reason.

Posted by tom scheck | March 10, 2008 10:01 AM

Bill - The world of politics is what this place is about, and well some ad's need to get covered and here is a pretty good place to do it. See my post on Tom's question about when to 'cover' and advertisment.

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/polinaut/archive/2008/03/mngop_ad_buy10k.shtml#comments

This again fit's the bill, i assume that the ad has or is going to air on stations.

But I do wonder why there was not coverage of the 'thank you' radio spot I heard after the veto was overridden. Did they not do a press release? Did I miss the coverage?

Posted by Brian Hanf | March 10, 2008 11:37 AM

I suppose this is a fine place to do it, if you have to cover advertising.

I'm more concerned with the structural connections b/w the media and political PR. It gets to be entirely too cozy, and easy, for journalists to self-reflexively report on advertising placed with their very own companies. How is it any different than when ABC covers the release of a new Disney movie during the 6:00 news?

It's far more difficult to actually report on issues, go out and gather quotes, put together an in-depth story, or run a 'Good Question'-esque analysis of an advertisement. It's also probably far less likely to fit into a neat 'politics as combat' frame, however.

Posted by Bill Lindeke | March 10, 2008 1:49 PM

Bill,

You do make some good points - and I agree - but this area -- and it seemed as though your comment was directed at this area -- are for that kind of coverage and converstation.

(Keep the screws tight on everyone else though)

Posted by Brian Hanf | March 10, 2008 2:57 PM

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