Fowler: Even Negative Campaign Ads Inform Public

In an OpEd for The Hartford Courant, Erika Fowler, assistant professor of government, director of The Wesleyan Media Project, discussed this year’s campaign ad trends, including negative ads. Fowler says that negative ads are up this year, but that can be a positive for the electorate’s information acquisition. Even though negative ads are often lamented by candidates and the news media, they often provide more substantial information regarding candidates’ beliefs, records and policies than so-called positive ads. This is especially so with comparative ads.

The Wesleyan Media Project was also cited in stories run by The Chicago Tribune, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and ABC News, The Los Angeles Times during the last few days.