Political Advertising, Radio

The radio airwaves became a central mode of campaign advertising soon after the entrance of commercial radio in the United States in 1922 and maintained that role for more than 3 decades. Despite the rise of television advertising, with candidates for higher profile offices spending large amounts of their campaign budgets on the production and airing of television spots, radio advertising has persisted in the American political arena. In addition to maintaining a crucial place in the communications strategies of candidates for smaller budget state and local offices because of the cost effectiveness of radio advertising, since the early 1990s radio has reasserted its role in higher-profile campaigns [Page 568]as a mode of advertising that allows campaigns to target their messages to subgroups of voters.

Soon ...