AP reports that presidential candidates are again running TV ads during broadcast network news--a first since 1996, according to Evan Tracey, head of TNS Media Intelligence/Campaign Media Analysis
Group. The preference is for local ads with pointed messages in battleground states. In the past, networks worried about the conflict between news reporting and ad influence; now, in a tough economy,
the potential revenue is hard to turn down. The price of a 30-second spot during the evening newscasts fluctuated between $40,000 and $55,000 earlier this year, per Horizon Media.
