For Immediate Release
August 22, 2000
Contact Information:
Amanda Cooper, 212 998–6736
Brennan Center Launches WWW.BUYINGTIME.ORG
Online Database of Political Advertising Now Available to the Public
The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law today launched a new web site on political television advertising by candidates, parties and groups. The web site, http://www.buyingtime.org, is an online, interactive database containing findings from the 1998 congressional election-the most comprehensive and detailed empirical information ever assembled on political advertising. The web site is accessible to the general public and allows users to conduct customized online searches focusing on discreet races and advertisers.
The web site was developed from Buying Time: Television Advertising in the 1998 Congressional Elections, a Brennan Center study which analyzed political television ads in the top 75 media markets reaching 80 percent of the nation’s population. The Washington Post‘s David Broder wrote that Buying Time was, “an eye-opener even for those of us who thought we had become completely jaded with the repetitive debate on this issue.”
“Until now, the debate over our campaign finance system has been dominated by anecdotes,” said Brennan Center president, Joshua Rosenkranz. “Arguments for and against reform are made with great passion, but without a firm handle on the state of the current system. Buying Time and its companion web site will change that. The beauty of the web site is that anyone can access the Brennan Center’s data to answer their own questions about political advertising. The result will be a more informed and meaningful policy debate.”
Users can access the information through three different search tools. Two offer quick, one-click access to key findings of the study or profiles of races or groups. A third, advanced search tool offers users interested in more specific information the opportunity to design their own query of the data.
The site was designed by Flat, Inc. (www.flat.com), an interactive design firm in New York City, and continues the firm’s long standing commitment to clear and simple site navigation and functionality with a focus on ease of use.
Buying Time http://www.buyingtime.org are made possible through the support of the Pew Charitable Trusts.