Ethics In Political Advertising Essay Research Paper

Ethics In Political Advertising Essay, Research Paper

In recent years, more and more attention has been brought to the subject of advertising and how it effects its viewers. Many people believe that there is too much sex and violence in advertisements and they want to put a stop to it. These people believe that sex really doesn t sell and it shouldn t be allowed to be put into the media. On the other hand, there are people that are firm believers in the idea that sex and violence sell. These people have a strong idea that the public wants to see this kind of thing, and it aids heavily in the promotion of the product. Also included in this, is political advertising. Candidates have used advertising for many different reasons. It has been used to create and develop their images, explain their platforms, and communicate various types of messages to the public (Kates 1871). Advertising on television is a very useful tool for candidates across the nation. It provides the general public with the knowledge of who the candidate is, and where he or she stands on the issues. However, it can also be used to slander ones opponent. When election time rolls around, you can be sure to see television commercials that say something bad about a candidate, and something good about his or her opponent (who has paid for the commercial). Political advertising is believed to work under certain conditions for certain types of voters and for certain types of purposes such as image development, agenda setting, or attacking opponents (Kates 1871).

There are certain ethics that can be applied to this situation. Many questions that can be asked are: does political advertising encourage or discourage voters from participating, thus harming the democratic process. Do politicians exaggerate claims or stretch the truth, creating a negative impression of the political system. Can negative advertising create a cynical environment in which voters are discouraged from voting (Kates 1871-1872). These are all major questions that a candidate has to deal with before he or she can decide what kind of campaign they are going to run. A candidate cannot simply run a scandalous campaign against their opponent, because that will make the other candidate do the same and that might turn the voters off from voting completely. Candidates have to be very careful about what they decide to advertise, because the slightest thing done wrong could get them into trouble. For example, in the 1998 election, a republican representative named Don Young used the presidential seal in a campaign ad (Trigoboff 11). The seal was used because former President George Bush was in the ad endorsing Mr. Young (11). This seems to violate federal law, and the White House attorneys have become involved (11).

Also, many governments around the world such as the Untied States, Great Britain, and Canada have tried to place governmental restrictions on political advertising during elections (Kates 1872). Unfortunately, most of the bills are shot down because of the right to free expression (1872).

From an ethical standpoint, there are two different approaches to looking at political advertising. These are called the traditional and postmodern views (Kates 1873). The traditional approach, stresses open debate, choice, rationality and democratic process (1873). The postmodern approach is much different than this. This approach would, challenge the notion that voters are in any position to evaluate the veracity of the claims, offer resistance to persuasion, or meaningfully participate in the political system (1873). The traditional approach seeks the truth in political communications, whereas, the postmodern looks at freedom and choice in the advertisement, whether they are valid, and if they are not, then the truth in the advertisement is really irrelevant (1873).

The Pontifical Council for Social Communications believes that political advertising is an, obstruction of the democratic process, that it, seeks to distort the views and records of opponents, and appeals more to people s emotions and base instincts (Foley 313). Although these views are a little bit extreme in my opinion, I think that they have a lot of validity. I don t agree that it is an obstruction to the democratic process, I think that it helps the democratic process greatly. In this day and age, there are many people that don t follow politics and really do not care about going out to vote on Election Day. Now with the use of television advertising, more and more people can see the candidates and might actually go out and vote. I m not saying that these ads are all good, I know that they are usually meant to slander ones opponent and make people believe certain things that are not true. However, I think that it ultimately helps out the candidate. I do agree with the comments that it distorts the views and records of opponents and that it appeals to peoples emotions and base instincts. But appealing to peoples emotions and base instincts is the way that they get the people to vote for them. I don t like the fact that they slam their opponents in order to do this, I think that they should just focus on their issues. In addition to all of this, there is another problem with political advertising. Yes, it is a great way to get your name and face out there and get your views out to the general public, but the cost of it is so high. The Pontifical Council once agai