David PesciNovember 5, 20101min
The Wesleyan Media Project has received a $100,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The Wesleyan Media Project is a non-partisan initiative designed to perform comprehensive tracking and analysis of federal and gubernatorial political advertisements by candidates, parties and special interest groups. It also provides experiential learning for graduate and undergraduate students in the review, coding and analysis of political advertisements. Since its launch in late September 2010, The Wesleyan Media Project (more…)

David PesciNovember 5, 20101min
Erika Franklin Fowler, assistant professor of government, received a $100,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The funds will be used to support The Wesleyan Media Project. More information on this grant is online at: https://newsletter.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2010/11/05/knight-foundation-supports-the-wesleyan-media-project/

David PesciOctober 13, 20104min
The first data analysis released by the Wesleyan Media Project is making national news. The New York Times recently reported that ads mentioning China had been run by 29 candidates for national office and cited the Wesleyan Media Project and it's director, Erika Franklin Fowler, assistant professor of government. The data analysis findings were also reported by BusinessWeek, among other outlets, and indicate that spending on political ads has increased by $220 million over the 2008 campaign cycle. Some of the increases are a result of senate races in more populous states than in 2008, including California, New York, and…

David PesciSeptember 24, 20102min
Wesleyan University is launching the Wesleyan Media Project, a non-partisan initiative designed to perform comprehensive tracking and analysis of federal and state political advertisements by candidates, parties and special interest groups. The project launches at the onset of a political election season poised to break advertising records. Throughout the course of the 2010 election cycle, the Wesleyan Media Project will provide real-time, public information on the content and targeting of advertising in federal election campaigns across the country. In light of the Supreme Court’s recent Citizens United decision, the Project will also provide systematic evidence on the extent of corporate…

David PesciSeptember 24, 20102min
The issue we ask "5 Questions" of Assistant Professor of Government Erika Franklin Fowler, the director of the newly-launched Wesleyan Media Project, a non-partisan initiative designed to perform comprehensive tracking and analysis of federal and state political advertisements by candidates, parties and special interest groups in every media market in the nation. Q: What can you tell us about the Wesleyan Media Project? A: The Wesleyan Media Project will provide nonpartisan, publicly-available, real-time tracking and analysis of all political ads aired on television across the U.S. during the 2010 election campaign. It's a collaborative effort lead by me and two…