The Role of Campaign Commercials in Electoral Politics Seminar
On Wednesday, October 21st, Professor of Mass Communication John Carroll presented on the media’s role in U.S. presidential campaigns. Professor Carroll previously served as executive producer of news programs at WGBH-TV.He has also written extensively for The Boston Globe and Adweek magazine, and has been a regular commentator on WBUR-FM and National Public Radio.
Professor Carroll outlined the complex American electoral process, focusing especially on primaries and caucuses. He explained the “retail politics” that candidates practice in states with early caucuses and primaries such as Iowa and New Hampshire. The then focused his lectureon television and social media, emphasizing the growing role of social media in election coverage and its powerful impact on voters’ perceptions of candidates.
Professor Carroll cited American journalist AJ Liebling in explaining that the press’s function is to inform, but its role is to make money. This tension can be seen in the way that major media outlets tend to focus on top-polling and top-fundraising candidates. This creates a tiered system in which some candidates receive all the attention, and others hardly any. Many lower-tier candidates feel they have to make sensational statements in order togain the public’s attention.
The Fellows appreciated Professor Carroll’s clarification of the electoral process and his description of how both mainstream media and social media influence it.