2008 The amazing race is on.

• Author: Fischer, Raymond L.
• Position: Mass Media - Presidential election

"The default of ethics, failure of old-style politics, and contemptuous boldness and disrespect that congressmen, lobbyists, and other influence peddlers have shown during recent years have incited the public to demand changes in the way politicians raise money and use media in their campaigns. "

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THE 2006 MID-TERM elections--some of the closest as well as most contentious and costly ever--recorded advertising expenditures of more than $2,000,000,000, the largest amount expended since 1994's total of $1,500,000,000. As usual, ABC, NBC, and CBS received most of the money for TV ads (80%); $250,000,000 purchased advertisements on various cable systems (11%); and most of the remaining nine percent went to radio and newspapers.

As voters increasingly turn to cable for political information, the industry expects to attract more politicians by creating long-form messages on its video-on-demand platforms. Several systems operators will champion VOD as a method to furnish voters with more comprehensive views of candidates and their positions on major issues than can appear in 30-second commercials. Although candidates running for Congress spent most of the money, millions also went to finance hotly contested state ballot initiatives. In California, for instance, ads for a ballot initiative to force oil companies to fund alternative energy programs cost over $300,000,000.

Despite all the extra revenue, only one of the three major networks actually provided significant political news coverage during the 2006 campaign. NBC's "Nightly News" spent a total of about 60 minutes on the congressional race as part of its "Battle for the Senate" series. ABC's "World News" gave approximately 30 minutes to the race, including George Stephanopoulos' reports on 22 of 43 week-days in September and October. CBS's coverage amounted to less than 30 minutes. In total, the networks provided about two hours of "free time," for which candidates did not pay.

A prospectus for the 2008 presidential race promises, more than ever before, a larger number of early caucuses, primaries, and contenders, as well as greater amounts of money for television. Although primary and caucus schedules have yet to be finalized, the Democratic Party's Rules and Bylaws Committee has agreed to scheduling one or two caucuses between the Iowa caucus on Jan. 14, 2008, and the New Hampshire primary on Jan. 22. The proposal also adds one or two primaries after the New Hampshire contest but before Feb. 5. Iowa, Nevada, and possibly South Carolina are considering moving their caucuses to early January and, several states including California, New Jersey, Illinois, and Florida--have threatened to advance their primaries to February or earlier. Throughout all the maneuvering, New Hampshire vows to...