This content was published: November 2, 2008. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Attack of the attacking ads – yikes!
Photos and story by Dana Haynes
Two days to go.
OK, now I’m feeling the hate.
I’ve been telling everyone who will listen that I absolutely love election season. My bachelor’s degree is in political science, and I’m one of those guys who zooms onto the Internet first thing every morning to check out the political blogs.
“But what about all those awful ads?” people said. I scoff. “They’re not so bad!”
But that’s because I don’t watch much TV, and when I do, it’s generally something I’ve rented from Netflix.
I blew a headlight on my car last week and took it in to the shop to be repaired. While I waited – for a total of 15 minutes – the TV in the waiting lounge was on some network daytime game show. And the ads…. Yes, indeed, the ads are awful. It was an unrelenting litany of attack ads. Every single ad was political and every single ad was negative. I sat through two ad breaks, trying to read the New York Times, and was ready to commit homicide by the time they brought me my keys.
If you’re a regular watcher of daytime TV, I can see where that would be a psychological assault. So there’s a lesson to be had in there, I think.
Send your feedback to dana.haynes@pcc.edu. And thanks in advance.
About Dana Haynes
Dana Haynes, joined PCC in 2007 as the manager of the Office of Public Affairs, directing the college's media and government relations. Haynes spent the previous 20 years as a reporter, columnist and editor for Oregon newspapers, including ... more »