{"id":24438,"date":"2019-10-05T14:46:09","date_gmt":"2019-10-05T18:46:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.frankwbaker.com\/mlc\/?page_id=24438"},"modified":"2023-12-07T10:07:22","modified_gmt":"2023-12-07T15:07:22","slug":"helping-students-read-political-advertisements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.frankwbaker.com\/mlc\/helping-students-read-political-advertisements\/","title":{"rendered":"Helping Students Read Political Advertisements"},"content":{"rendered":"

Helping Students See Through & Read Political Advertising Messages<\/strong> By Frank W Baker
\nOctober 2019 (this blog post is scheduled to be published at www.MiddleWeb.com and may appear in a slightly different format)<\/p>\n

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By now, you and your students may have already seen any one of a number of commercials for candidates running for office.\u00a0 With the 2020 Presidential campaign heating up, no doubt you\u2019ve seen ads from President Trump, one of the remaining Democratic contenders, or even an \u201cissue\u201d ad.<\/p>\n

As a long time media educator, I am an advocate for using any one of these advertisements in the classroom to help students understand how persuasive messages are conveyed in 30 seconds (or less). It also provides a good opportunity to discuss the techniques used as well as the benefits and economics of TV.<\/p>\n

Teaching Advertising<\/strong>
\nWhether you teach English, Social Studies or Media, using ads with students is a sure way to get their attention and to engage them.\u00a0 They\u2019re exposed to ads all of the time, but they\u2019re probably unaccustomed to analyzing and deconstructing the words and images in these slicky-produced messages\u2014important \u201cmedia literacy\u201d skills in the 21st<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n

Asking students \u201cwhat is the purpose of advertising\u201d might be helpful. The responses you may receive will probably be along the lines of \u201cto sell stuff.\u201d In reality, selling is not the purpose of advertising: persuasion is.\u00a0 Would your students instantly recognize any of the common techniques of persuasion?<\/a><\/p>\n

In a world where more states are teaching to the Common Core standards, would your students be able to identify the arguments<\/a> put forth by the candidate or other sponsor of the ad?<\/p>\n

The National Standards for Civics and Government recommend students understand political communications:
\n.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/b>Political communication: television, radio, the press, and political persuasion<\/b>.<\/b> Students should be able to evaluate, take, and defend positions on the influence of the media on American political life. (Source<\/a>)<\/p>\n

So how do ads persuade:\u00a0 through the words, images and sounds used. In the political arena, many candidates employ consultants to help them craft their messages.\u00a0 In many ways, emotion is also used to sway voters. [ See my previous column<\/a> on media’s uses of emotion.]\n

I\u2019ve created a handy Political Advertising Analysis Worksheet<\/a>, which I invite you to download and use with students.\u00a0 Assign one of the columns in the handout and have students respond after viewing one or more ads.\u00a0 Students are challenged here to think about (for example) what TV show they saw the ad.\u00a0 The placement of the ad is important because the candidate desires to reach a specific demographic (for example: Females age 24-44). They must also recognize and identify symbols, sounds, persuasion techniques and more.<\/p>\n

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Activity Suggestion<\/strong>
\n<\/u>This activity is aimed at assigning your students to write a 30 second commercial for a candidate.\u00a0 With the names of Presidential hopefuls in a hat, students draw a name.\u00a0 In a separate hat, place small pieces of paper listing any one of a number of various issues\u2014like climate change, the economy, the Middle East, poverty, unemployment, etc.\u00a0 Students select an issue and then research their candidate\u2019s position on that topic. In addition to finding position statements on the candidate\u2019s websites, they can also use a subscription database (i.e. EBSCO; General OneFile; InfoTrac Newstand) to determine what the candidate may have previously said, on the record, about that topic.<\/p>\n

Using a 30 second commercial script template, downloadable from my website<\/a>, they write the ad for their candidate. (NOTE: you can create your own 30 second script form by creating two columns on an 8 X 11 sheet of paper: labeling one column AUDIO and the other column VIDEO) Once completed, a representative stands up and reads the ad aloud and is timed, to make sure it is exactly half-a-minute long.<\/p>\n

Who Benefits?<\/strong>
\n<\/u>Another critical thinking question for your students to consider is: who benefits when politicians purchase time on TV stations and networks?\u00a0 The primary answer here is: the media companies themselves.<\/p>\n

I recently discovered a place online where your students can research exactly how much candidates pay to buy time on your local TV station. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requires stations to maintain political files. That\u2019s where the actual contracts are placed for researchers, and others, like your students to download and study.<\/p>\n

Here is the procedure for locating ad costs and contracts:
\n\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Again, you might task students, or groups of students, with researching a specific candidate or Super Pac. In addition to investigating your local station, you might decide to have them research TV stations outside your general area.\u00a0 For example, candidates may be purchasing more ad time in states like Iowa, New Hampshire whose primaries and caucuses occur first. (NOTE: legitimate candidates, by law, must be charged the going rate for a 30 second spot. Super Pacs\u2014not legitimate candidates—can be charged anything and your students may discover a huge discrepancy in the cost of a 30 second ad)<\/p>\n

I recently presented the following idea to Social Studies educators gathered at their annual conference here in South Carolina, where I reside. I first showed them this slide.
\n\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The numbers, adjacent to city names, represent the size of the TV market. The rating company Nielsen, assigns numbers<\/a>. Those markets which have more homes with television will have higher ranks than those homes with fewer TVs.\u00a0 I included markets outside South Carolina because those city\u2019s TV signals cross over via cable and satellite. [Suggestion: create a state map graphic, similar to mine, to help students understand market size and ad pricing.]\n

One of the things students may discover is that the larger the market, the higher the cost of a 30 second ad.\u00a0 Will students know why that it is the case?<\/p>\n

Databases of Political TV Commercials<\/strong>
\n<\/u>In 2019, there is no shortage of places online where you and your students can find, download, watch and study political advertising.\u00a0 Here is a short list you may wish to consider.<\/p>\n

Political Ad TV Archive \u00a0https:\/\/politicaladarchive.org\/<\/a>
\nFacebook Ad Library https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ads\/library\/?active_status=all&ad_type=all&country=US<\/a>
\nSnap Political Ad Library https:\/\/www.snap.com\/en-US\/political-ads<\/a>
\nProPublica\u2019s Political Ad Library https:\/\/projects.propublica.org\/facebook-ads\/<\/a>
\nAll Political Ads\u00a0\u00a0 https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCvuOH0oJFwElBgRKz-eMlLw<\/a><\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/strong>
\n<\/u>The 2020 presidential campaign is upon us. Whether you reside in a \u201cbattleground\u201d state or not, we\u2019re all guaranteed to see (or read about) political ads which will bombard the airwaves as we approach primary and convention season.<\/p>\n

We know advertising persuades and influences. When educators commit to taking the time to use these ads in instruction, and guide students through the analysis and deconstruction process, we\u2019re helping them become better critical thinkers and viewers.<\/p>\n

Recommended Resources<\/strong>
\nThe Role of Media In Politics<\/a> (Frank Baker’s website)
\nPolitical Campaigns & Political Advertisements: A Media Literacy Guide<\/a> (Frank Baker’s book)
\nMedia Literacy Analyzing Political Commercials<\/a>
\nC-SPAN Classroom<\/a>
\nMedia & Influence<\/a> (iCivics)
\nEvaluating Election Ads<\/a> (Newseum)
\nCampaign Ads & Campaign Cash<\/a> (Closeup Foundation)
\nAnalyzing Presidential Campaign Propaganda<\/a><\/p>\n

#30#<\/p>\n

Frank W Baker is along time blogger for Middleweb<\/a>. He was recently recognized internationally for his work in media literacy education with UNESCO\u2019s Global Media & Information Literacy award.\u00a0 Baker works with teachers nationwide to help them better teach media literacy and critical thinking about media messages. He is the author of the recent \u201cClose Reading The Media\u201d<\/a><\/em> (co-published by Middleweb and Routledge) as well as \u201c Media Literacy in The K-12 Classroom,<\/a>\u201d<\/em> (2nd<\/sup> edition, ISTE). He also maintains the popular Media Literacy Clearinghouse website<\/a> of resources.\u00a0He can be reached at fbaker1346@gmail.com<\/a> and on Twitter @fbaker<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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