The World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees is in full swing, with millions of people in the United States and abroad watching the showdown each night. Some fans are forced to watch graphic, hateful political ads. Some ads are preceded by warnings from broadcasters, but there’s not much you can do about it.
An anti-abortion ad that ran last night during the World Series read: “Abortion is murder. Abortion is murder. Don’t vote for Kamala.” It was paid to Randall Terry, who founded Operation Rescue, a group that stood outside and harassed patients. Terry is also a no-shot presidential candidate running on the ticket of the far-right Constitution Party, which is expected to appear on ballots in some, but not all, states.
Some broadcasters were clearly dissatisfied with the advertising. For example, on FOX, some viewers reported seeing a warning: “The following political ad contains graphic images that may be disturbing to viewers.” It also says that federal law requires Fox to run the ads because the ads are paid for by legally eligible candidates for public office. The Fox affiliate in Kansas City, like ABC News, published an editorial memo online warning viewers about the ads on telly and explaining why the ads run during the show.
Terry’s strategy involves taking advantage of this rule. He previously tried to run a similarly graphic anti-abortion ad during the 2012 Super Bowl. But in that case, he was stuck. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ruled that Chicago television stations were not required to run Terry’s ads because he did not qualify as a legitimate presidential candidate. He also said that because the Super Bowl is one of the biggest television events of the year and advertising space is limited, it may not be possible for stations to provide airtime to all candidates. The law only requires broadcasters to give candidates “reasonable access” to their time.
Terry’s graphic anti-abortion ads aren’t the only disturbing ads. Earlier in the series, we noticed an anti-trans ad paid for by the Donald Trump campaign that specifically referred to transgender women competing in sports as “biological males.” our girls. ”
One of the reasons these ads are so annoying is because of their frames. Trump is clearly the Republican presidential candidate and has used equally (if not more) inflammatory rhetoric about transgender people on the air. But these ads are flashing during baseball games watched by families and children. The Washington Post reported that other telly ads were also shown on ABC during shows such as “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” And The View.
Another reason is that broadcast television is one of the few U.S. media formats that features something like an equal-time rule. This is part of the station’s status as a public trust, allowing it to use rare and valuable spectrum.
At the same time that the World Series is filled with such ads, Florida officials are trying to prevent local broadcasters from airing ads promoting access to abortion. The ad deals with Amendment 4, a ballot measure that Florida voters will consider next week that would repeal the state’s six-week abortion ban. In this case, Florida officials, including Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, sent a letter to local TV stations requesting that the ads be stopped and threatening criminal charges. A federal judge this week blocked state authorities from continuing to threaten the station.
