Media Attention In 2016 Presidential Elections

Media attention in the most recent 2016 presidential election was at its height. Political ads dominated every frame of media, from ABC to Facebook and to Twitter. However, the apparent oddity that many have observed in this election is a false narrative. The 2016 presidential election between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump was not unusual.

Sensationalism produced by the media has greatly influenced contemporary views of elections and their candidates’ campaigns. For instance, in this election, America saw two extremely unfavorable candidates, and one of which had little to no political nor policy experience. However, there have been previous presidents who did not serve in any elected office prior to becoming president. In addition, there

FEC Supreme Court case were apparent. Outside spending since Citizens United has increased in large proportions across virtually all elections, especially the presidential ("The Center for Responsive Politics."). Following suit, this means that media advertisements have increased as well. In tandem, the data backs this up as well, in 2016, over 32.54% of federal election ads were from outside groups, compared to just 6.99% in 2008 (Share of U.S. Political Ads). However, this does not make the 2016 election cycle unusual, because 2012 had an even higher number. Rather, these statistics show that there should be an adjustment to the manners in which political scientists evaluate the media, spending, and their roles in elections, or even perhaps it suggests that outside spending in presidential elections may return to pre-Citizens United

However, Clinton did not win the Electoral College vote and lost four key swing states. Survey polls, all the polls before Election Day, have a fundamental problem with presidential elections. That problem lies in the disparity between survey polls and the poll on Election Day. Survey polls seek out people to answer their preferences, while voting on Election Day requires the people to register and come to their polling place. The cost of answering in survey polls leading up to Election Day is much lower than voting in the election. Survey polls cannot comfortably calculate turnout because they use an assumption that those who answer the poll will necessarily turnout on election day in the same