Commentary

Political 527 Groups: TV Stations' Knights In Shining Karma?

It's advertising crunch time for TV stations, and the drug of choice getting TV ad execs through the next five weeks are the double-edged sword TV commercials from those 527 political advertising groups.

So far, according to TV Week, things are not looking that good. One station executive says the money is good, but not "nutso."

These third-party groups -- named after the section of tax law -- will make or break things for TV stations and their precious advertising coffers, especially as the economy moves to the edge of recession, if not downright depression.

Those groups can now advertise within 30 days leading up to the election, which is good news for stations -- that is, if they can figure out who is telling the truth.

The 527s can tout their message without much checking on the part of TV stations. Executives say misleading spots can still run -- but not inaccurate ones. Some TV stations are doing the honorable thing for those more egregious messages and pulling them -- if only for a time.

It's one thing to let TV viewers decide on a specific issue. It's another to mislead viewers, and it's still another when individual facts are flatly incorrect. Pieces of the Swift Boat TV commercials were not accurate, and derailed Sen. John Kerry's presidential plans.

How much time does the average viewer have to vet questionable messages? Viewers will be hard-pressed to weed through the blizzard of informational junk in October. You worry about commercials messages that influence kids who watch TV? Now it's their parents' turn.

Sans big advertising dollars, what is next for TV stations? Harry Pappas' TV stations have already filed for bankruptcy. You can bet more will be on the way by the end of the year. NBC and Fox say their respective local TV stations are suffering big time from meager TV advertising sales.

Where will new ad revenues come from in future years? Hello, Google

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