-
CNN laid the groundwork for its 2008 election coverage back in 2005 budgeting meetings, when all it really knew was that there would be a wide open two-party race. The planning paid off, with the Peabody judges singling out the cable network’s primary campaign and debate coverage for an award. “With...
-
I was flying over “ruby red” Utah last Tuesday when the television networks called the presidential election for Sen. Barack Obama. We’d already had our first beverage and snack service—animal crackers, Terra chips and a Doritos snack mix among the choices—and the JetBlue flight from New York to Oakland...
-
It turns out President-elect Barack Obama’s half-hour network TV campaign advertisement, which drew rave reviews and an audience of 33.5 million viewers, came together in little more than a month. Now that the election is over, production details of the Oct. 29 ad are coming out and they are again demonstrating...
-
A historic presidential campaign is ending with a blitz of negative ads and a surge in spending by the presidential candidates, but a surprise shortfall in spending by independent groups. It’s also ending with the unexpected emergence of Georgia, North Dakota and Arizona as battleground states and intense...
-
All three broadcast networks are producing hourlong editions of their flagship newscasts on Monday, the eve of the groundbreaking, high-stakes national election. At last count on Friday, it appeared the rare second half-hour would be carried by significant numbers of local stations, even though clearance...
Posted to
The Business of Television
by
News
on
Sun, Nov 2 2008
Filed under:
Filed under: Broadcast, ABC, CBS, Barack Obama, Election, Print Edition, John McCain, Good Morning America, ABC News, World News, Nightly News
-
I want it to be over, and yet I can’t bear to let it go. No, I’m not talking about Fox’s “’Til Death,” which the network mercifully put on hiatus last week. As much as I enjoy using Brad Garrett’s unwatchable sitcom as a synonym for “crappy television”—and despite the fact that there’s nothing funny...
-
It may be the end to the presidential campaign, but Tuesday’s vote kicks off a high-stakes battle over media issues in the next Congress and administration. Broadcasting, advertising and consumer groups say that no matter who wins the presidency, there will be major changes in Congress, the Federal Communications...
-
The 2008 race for the presidency has been memorable for many reasons, not the least of which is the jaw-dropping effect it has had on the television industry. The campaign brought to media companies a record $750 million in advertising revenue—of which local stations and the broadcast and cable networks...
Posted to
The Business of Television
by
News
on
Sun, Oct 26 2008
Filed under:
Filed under: Broadcast, Cable, CBS, NBC, Saturday Night Live, MSNBC, Barack Obama, Election, Katie Couric, Print Edition, John McCain, tom brokaw, SNL, Political Ads, Sarah Palin, Keith Olbermann, Chuck Todd, Chris Matthews
-
As the presidential election nears, there is a question about whether Sen. John McCain could be facing not just the bad economy and voters’ dislike of George Bush, but a “Tina Fey problem.” Pollster Bennett, head of Manchester, N.H.-based American Research Group, said Ms. Fey’s portrayal of GOP vice...
-
New York City’s Times Square usually is known as the crossroads of the world, but on Nov. 4 it will be Election Central. ABC News is going big-screen on Election Night with multiple data feeds tailored for the eye-catching video signs on the Reuters building and the Nasdaq building, as well as the headline...
-
Fox News Channel anchor Shepard Smith says, “Chatting about politics is not my favorite thing.” He wearies of “the chattering classes” that have been a staple of news coverage of the two-year presidential campaign. He likes the Big Story, and this presidential election certainly is “one for the history...
-
The pitch and tone at the Democratic National Convention signals that the final two months of the campaign are going to be hard fought, with more TV advertising in more states than ever before. David Plouffe, the campaign manager for Democratic nominee Barack Obama, told the convention the candidate...
-
It’s not just going to be ad spending on the presidential race that swells TV station coffers this summer and fall. Revenue from the congressional races also is starting to tally up at the cash register. Democrats’ success at raising money this year has resulted in some early TV purchases, with the most...