Support the fact-based journalism you rely on with a donation to Marketplace today. Give Now!

Money in politics helps, but it's not everything

Mar 5, 2020
Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg dropped out of the presidential race after spending a record half a billion dollars.
Mike Bloomberg suspended his presidential campaign Wednesday.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Online political ads have a whole different rulebook than TV

Feb 21, 2020
Digital ads don't always have to say who paid for them.
Most of the money spent on political ads goes to television.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

Some Democrats don't want corporate money. That's not stopping corporations.

Jan 16, 2020
Companies don't want to miss out on the 2020 race.
Six of the remaining Democratic presidential hopefuls at the seventh Democratic primary debate of the 2020 presidential campaign season in Des Moines, Iowa, on Jan. 14, 2020.
Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

Where does Twitter's decision to ban political advertising leave its peers?

Oct 31, 2019
Twitter's Jack Dorsey says the ban is designed to fight misinformation. Will other CEOs join him?
Leon Neal/Getty Images

Hurricane and political seasons collide on The Weather Channel

Sep 14, 2018
Viewers of The Weather Channel may have noticed a lot of campaign ads this week as the midterm elections approach and more people tuned in to track Hurricane Florence. According to NCC Media, the number of political advertisers on the channel grew from 59 last week to 83 this week. “It’s a smart media strategy,” […]
A tattered U.S. flag flies as the outer bands of Hurricane Florence make landfall Friday in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
ALEX EDELMAN/AFP/Getty Images

Where did 'I approve this message' come from?

Oct 17, 2016
The fix for attack ads run amok has lost some of its power in the digital age.
A view of a digital billboard supporting Donald Trump in Times Square, New York City. The billboard was paid for by a pro-Trump political action committee (Super PAC) called 'Committee to Restore America's Greatness.' 
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Team Trump unleashes its first TV ad

Aug 19, 2016
But political spending on air time isn't nearly what stations expected.
Trump speaking at a rally in Florida. 
GREGG NEWTON/AFP/Getty Images

Why politicians still run so many TV ads

Dec 8, 2015
TV is still king of political advertising. Here's why.

Cable eclipsing broadcast for political advertising

Oct 17, 2014
Over-the-air TV is scattershot, while cable can be much more targeted.