I saw plenty of political ads on TV last night while watching News Night with Arron Brown on CNN. From Kansas City I get hit with both barrels: ads for Missouri and Kansas. I’m noticing a strange meta-language in some attack ads: attack language that attacks the opponent by attacking attack language. I find this particularly strange because there is very little credible evidence demonstrating that voters dislike negative campaigning. There is excellent evidence that voters consider it a mistake not to attack back when attacked first. So this strange meta-language seems to me evidence of an unnecessary politeness. For another roundup of negative campaigning, see today’s Media Notes column.
The Rhetorica Network
I offer commentary on the rhetoric of the American conversation, especially as it unfolds in documentary film, the news media, and politics. Check out my feeds on Twitter and Instagram. Also be sure to see my work at Carbon Trace Productions, a non-profit documentary film studio in Springfield, Missouri. I am a Professor of Media & Journalism at Missouri State University. I teach classes in mobile journalism and documentary filmmaking.
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