Ad Buys: FCC Data and (Partial) Transparency
Data about political advertising historically have been difficult to access, though recently the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) began implementing new disclosure requirements for TV stations.
Who advertises and how much they spend intrigues political observers, not to mention campaign competitors. Intrigue aside, this information is important for a democratic system aspiring to offer candidates equal access to paid broadcast media – and to put some stops on the ability of the broadcasters to pad their own pockets.