Campaign Finance Inform: Giving Voters What They Don't Pay For - Don Seaman-TVB

Now that Election 2012 has been handed off to the history books it39s a good time to take stock of what broadcasters did to serve the American voting demographic There will be a lot said about the tidal wave of political ads that aired during this election cycle yet that is only the paid side of the political information carried by local broadcast television In large part those ads primarily served the agendas of the candidates while the revenues they generated provided a strong financial base to serve the informational needs of their viewersAnd that39s probably the crux of it all right there quotCoverage of the coveragequot so to speak focuses almost exclusively upon how much money was spent in local television advertising during this election There39s no denying that the advertising revenue is an important component to any discussion about politics in the media yet it39s far from the only storyThink about it amp8211 outside of the advertising press when we talk about television there39s virtually no discussion about how much was spent by QSR or Automotive or Package Goods We talk abouthow NBC has found a hit in Revolution We vote for our favorite singers and dancers We quotLikequot and Tweet about what we feel are the best shows on television In our discussion of quotregularquot television content remains king as it should beYet when it does come to choosing our leaders the content has become overshadowed by the dollarsOnly the local stations themselves choose a better way When it comes to political coverage you have to say that they are indeed putting their money where their mouths are They deliver an overwhelming amount of electionbased free content to their communities who are starved for real information But this onslaught of election information wasn39t done for the purpose of being a profit center it was done because it39s the right thing to doStations don39t host debates or give away airtime because there39s great ROI in it for them They do it because they represent their local communities which have important issues to discuss questions to ask answers to be had So they39re constantly learning how to best leverage their assets to ask those burning questions and to provide answers wherever their viewers can use themThroughout this election cycle information amp8211 and misinformation amp8211 was oftentimes nearly impossible to decipher That39s why local broadcast stations played such a critical role this year and will only grow in their utility in elections to come Our society is becoming one that values amp8211 strike that demands the everpresent ability to get informationOur world is far too connected far too factobsessed to be satisfied solely by a 30second spot to determine who is best suited to lead their government amp8211 and directly impact their walletsAnd that39s why local TV broadcasters have leveraged resources across their assets to deliver critical information to their citizens Be it in free airtime for candidates online factcheckers and positioncomparison tools stationsanctioned usergenerated video to document local issues smartphone and tablet electionbased apps their stations were ready to serveThe stations although probably more accurately their management and their journalists amp8211 consider this an example of what defines their purpose They do this because it39s what they do it39s who they are It39s their duty their responsibility their mandate to get the story not only right but complete That39s why we place our trust in them because it39s what makes them tick and we appreciate thatStudy after study has shown that local broadcasters have earned the trust and loyalty of their viewers And viewers are learning that they can extend this trust beyond the first screen for the stations39 ability to deliver unbiased reliable political information anywhere they need amp8211 onair online or onthegoBecause when you really think about it stations were made for this News professionals have never had information delivery platforms as expansive as this and it has to give them a sense of validation that they can fulfill their mandate Their service to their communities will only get better as technology improves And with it one would hope that we will get better government as a resultDon Seaman joined the TVB in January 2012 as Manager of Marketing Communications where he is responsible for promoting and raising awareness of the TVB and of Local Broadcast Televisionamp8217s value propositions within the traditional and digital media industries Don can be reached at dontvborgRead all Don39s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at Local MattersCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBloggerThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaBizBloggerscom management or associated bloggers MediaBizBloggers is an open thought leadership platform and 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Campaign Finance Inform: Giving Voters What They Don't Pay For - Don Seaman-TVB

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