A Modest Proposal for Political Ads

TelevisionDear Television Companies:

I could turn this letter into a parody of Swift, but an hour’s exposure to morning “news” and political ads has drained my hope that you would understand what I was saying. So I’ll try to keep it at a level you can understand.

I agree with @dogwalkblog‘s tweet:

Based on the 2010 midterms we will be spending billions on the 2012 general election that we could be spending on investment and education.

So television, here’s the deal:

I don’t need you.

I don’t need the hate and venom spewed by everyone’s political ads.

I’m done with your drama.

I am not watching live television until the political ads are gone. TiVo, seasons of shows on DVD, Hulu – whatever the means, I will not watch another goddamned political ad on television.

Nielsen determines ratings based on only 25,000 households. That means that every response counts for 4,580 households. By your own statistical assumptions, my statement here counts for 4,580 people. 1 Every person who retweets this, who likes it on Facebook, who even nods their bloody head in agreement represents another 4,580 households.

We’re fed up with the slogans, the fact-free emotional manipulation, the never-ending dance of crap of political advertisements.

We’re done with their drama, and until you reject their crap as well, we’re done with you.

1 I do stats, and I realize the flaws in my argument here. However, the flaws are methodologically identical to the ones that Nielsen makes.