Election 2022: Voters don't like negative ads, but they work

KSFR | By Mary Lou Cooper

Published September 2, 2022 at 1:35 AM MDT

Prepare for the Worst: Political Ads Are Coming!

Do negative political ads work? Do they increase polarization or just reflect it? KSFR reporter Mary Lou Cooper discusses these questions with Professor Michael Franz, co-director of the Wesleyan Media project, one of the premier political ad tracking groups in the U.S. Leading us into the story is an ad for a Missouri primary candidate which is perhaps the most offensive attack ad of the 2022 election season.

Government

Mary Lou Cooper

Mary Lou Cooper has reported for KSFR for over a decade, focusing on consumer issues, health, politics, and more. She is a former US Congressional staffer and remains a political junkie to this day. Cooper has received journalism awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, Associated Press, National Federation of Press Women and New Mexico Press Women. She grew up in Oak Ridge, TN and received her BA from Emory University in Atlanta and her MA from the University of Texas Austin. She holds fiction and screenwriting certificates from the University of Washington.

See stories by Mary Lou Cooper