The Brennan Center’s “Buying Time 2004” page features storyboards for every judicial television advertisement that was aired in those states holding elections for state supreme courts in 2004. Storyboards include screen captures of the ads at timed intervals, along with a transcription of the ad’s complete text. We also provide summaries of the amounts spent on TV ads in different states, and breakdowns of which groups are doing the spending. See below for links to state-by-state coverage. (TV ads, storyboards, and figures on spending are provided to the Brennan Center by Kantar Media/CMAG.)
Our 2004 reporting continues the groundbreaking analysis first conducted in 2000 examining the sponsorship, content, and costs of televised state supreme court campaign ads. Analyses of advertising over these election cycles has culminated in six reports: The New Politics of Judicial Elections, The New Politics of Judicial Elections 2002, The New Politics of Judicial Elections 2004, The New Politics of Judicial Elections 2006, The New Politics of Judicial Elections, 2000–2009: Decade of Change and The New Politics of Judicial Elections 2010. These studies document the growing threats to fair and impartial courts from big money, special interest pressure, and television air wars.
Overall | State Comparison | Election Year Comparison
State Breakdowns
Alabama | Arkansas | Georgia | Illinois | Kentucky | Louisiana | Michigan
Mississippi | New Mexico | North Carolina | Ohio | Oregon | Washington | West Virginia
Real Time Analysis
Throughout the election season the Brennan Center issued a series of analyses focused on judicial election spending
- November 3, 2004: “Buying Time 2004: Judicial Campaign Ad Spending Hits $19 Million”
- October 27, 2004: “Buying Time 2004: Judicial Campaign Ad Spending Breaks 2000 Record”
- October 20, 2004: “Buying Time 2004: Supreme Court Ads in Record Number of States”
- October 13, 2004: “Buying Time 2004: Television Advertising in Judicial Elections Surpasses $6 Million Dollar Mark”
- October 6, 2004: “Buying Time 2004: Judicial Election Spending Nears $5 Million Dollar Mark”
- September 29, 2004: “Buying Time 2004: Interest Groups Spend Over $500,000 on Judicial Election Attack Ads”
- September 22, 2004: “Buying Time 2004: Television Advertising Ramps Up in State Supreme Court General Elections”
- September 15, 2004: “Buying Time 2004: $4.2 Million Already Spent on Advertising for State Supreme Court Elections”
- September 8, 2004: “Buying Time 2004: Television Advertising in State Supreme Court Elections”
Methodology
All data on ad airings and spending on ads are calculated and prepared by Kantar Media/CMAG, which captures satellite data in the nation’s largest media markets. CMAG’s estimates do not reflect ad agency commissions or the costs of producing advertisements, nor do they reflect the cost of ad buys on local cable channels. Cost estimates are revised by Kantar Media/CMAG when it receives updated data, resulting in some fluctuations in the reported ad spending.