A month before the November election, Pennsylvanians are being bombarded with commercials on TV. The commercials have been airing for months and there are more of them as we approach election day. It didn’t used to be this way. Campaign season and especially the TV spots didn’t used to start until after Labor Day and usually became more frequent the last few weeks before the election. But today, most voters learn about candidates through the ads and here’s what is troubling. Most of the ads are increasingly negative toward a candidate’s opponent and many if not most are misleading with only half truths or edits without context. To discuss TV advertising and commercials for candidates is Alison Dagnes, Professor of political science at Shippensburg University and author of multiple books on politics.

A month before the November election, Pennsylvanians are being bombarded with commercials on TV. The commercials have been airing for months and there are more of them as we approach election day. It didn’t used to be this way. Campaign season and especially the TV spots didn’t used to start until after Labor Day and usually became more frequent the last few weeks before the election. But today, most voters learn about candidates through the ads and here’s what is troubling. Most of the ads are increasingly negative toward a candidate’s opponent and many if not most are misleading with only half truths or edits without context. To discuss TV advertising and commercials for candidates is Alison Dagnes, Professor of political science at Shippensburg University and author of multiple books on politics.

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from WITF, hosts Scott LaMar and Aniya Faulcon start the conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at https://witf.org/programs/the-spark.

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from <a href="https://www.witf.org">WITF</a>, hosts Scott LaMar and Aniya Faulcon start the conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at <a href="https://witf.org/programs/the-spark">https://witf.org/programs/the-spark</a>.

The Spark

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from WITF, hosts Scott LaMar and Aniya Faulcon start the conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at <a href="https://witf.org/programs/the-spark">https://witf.org/programs/the-spark</a>.

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