Free the Files Tracks $294 Million in TV Ads, With Obama Topping Buyer List

In just two weeks, volunteers for our Free the Files project have liberated information on $294 million in political ad buys.

by Amanda Zamora
ProPublica, Oct. 12, 2012, 11:43 a.m.

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In just two weeks, volunteers for our Free the Files project have liberated information on $294 million in ad buys made in swing states since Aug. 2.

The spending data comes from nearly 4,600 political ad contracts collected in a Federal Communications Commission database. The buys were made by candidates, super PACs, social welfare nonprofits and other groups at TV stations in 33 major markets.

Though not comprehensive and based on ad purchases that are sometimes revised, the data provides a previously unattainable snapshot of political spending in the final weeks of the campaign. Of the contracts reviewed so far, $64.3 million reflects buys by the Obama campaign, which spent more than any other group and about four times the amount spent by the Romney campaign.

The next largest bloc of spending was by two groups founded by GOP strategist Karl Rove, super PAC American Crossroads and its nonprofit cousin Crossroads GPS. These groups, which are backing Mitt Romney in the presidential race, made $23.9 million in ad buys.

While the presidential campaigns were the top ad buyers, Free the Files also captures television ads aimed at House, Senate and local races. A substantial chunk of the $75.8 million in ad buys logged so far in Ohio’s Cleveland-Akron-Canton market is flowing into the Senate race between Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown and Republican Josh Mandel.

VOLUNTEER UPDATE

Freeing files — while highly gratifying, of course — is not without complications. Though the FCC requires television stations to maintain orderly files, the documents are often difficult to read — as Free the Files volunteers can attest.

Nevertheless, 387 people have managed to “free” 27 percent of the television ads from 33 top markets (as published by the FCC since August), verifying details about the buyer, the amount spent and the agency placing the advertisement. Before August, the political ad data was only available by visiting television stations in person and asking for their paper political files.

Several news organizations and journalism schools are also joining the Free the Files effort, adding to the ranks of volunteers. Since teaming up with the Huffington Post in Denver, Detroit, Miami and Washington, D.C., volunteers have freed an additional 1,174 files. PBS NewsHour and Time’s Swampland are also helping recruit people. Also contributing to the effort are journalism students at Temple University in Pennsylvania, Arizona State University, Ohio's Youngstown State University and the University of North Carolina.

To those who have volunteered so far, we thank you. To start reviewing political ads, log in at www.propublica.org/freethefilesand join the Free the Files group on Facebook.

Follow @amzam

3 comments

Jerry Buerge

Oct. 13, 2012, 8:05 p.m.

Is it possible that the graph depicts only those transactions where no attempt to hide the data was available and that there is far more information yet to be exposed?

I’m not sure if this data has any real significance to the issue of super pacs at all.

ibsteve2u

Oct. 15, 2012, 5:11 a.m.

I don’t trust the displayed data. Judging from my personal viewing experience which demonstrates a roughly two- or three-to-one right-wing to anything not-of-the-right advantage, either the right is getting a deep, deep discount on advertising, the stations are misreporting, or some of your volunteers are plants.

Do I think the right would do that to ProPublica? Intentionally feed you bad information?

lolll…do you?

ibsteve2u

Oct. 15, 2012, 5:32 a.m.

Although what with corporations owning so much of the media it could indeed very well be that the Democrats simply get charged three or four times as much for time slots as the Republicans do.

You see, it is my observation that corporate leadership in America - and so much of political leadership in America, as well…at least on the Republican side - has greed-induced myopia…they’re only worried about their own stock options now and not about the corporation’s or the nation’s long term prospects.

Consequently, they’ve dispensed with trivialities like the fact that labor is a synonym for consumer, and so they also don’t worry about the fact that continually trying to pound labor into bloody bits in the dirt is suicide for anybody who relies upon the sale of products, services, or product or service advertising. That latter increases the possibility that Republicans do indeed receive a deep discount. After all, a wheel in a media giant gets a golden parachute just for accepting the job…they don’t worry about the grunts who have to pull another 20 or 30 years to “maybe” eke out a retirement on their 401K.

So could I see media practically giving the Republican time slots, and charging the Democrats out the yang? You betcha…the Republicans could roll those media giants - and some of them have connected companies with massive offshore earnings itching for a “tax holiday” - billions in creative tax legislation…

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This article is part of an ongoing investigation:

Free the Files

Outside groups are spending hundreds of millions to influence the coming elections. Help unlock outside spending by "freeing" political ad buys from television stations in swing markets.