By: Jennifer Saba After months of calling on political campaigns with hat in hand, the Illinois Press Association is finally making some headway.
"All of the sudden, the phone is ringing off the hook," said Jeffrey Holman, director of advertising at the Illinois Press Association. He reported that at least five different statewide candidates and advocacy groups have placed more than $148,000 of advertising in over 100 Illinois papers in the span of a week.
Barack Obama, the Democrat who's running for U.S. Senate, made a media buy in 14 papers for $24,600. Judge Lloyd Karmeier, a Republican with his eye on the State Supreme Court, bought $10,000 worth of ads to be placed in 70 Southern Illinois papers. And incumbent U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello, a Democrate, placed $2,300 worth of ads in 19 papers.
Two state advocacy groups have also taken advantage of the network put together by the Press Association. The Illinois Hospital Association ran full page ads in nine papers, costing more than $53,500, and the Illinois State Medical Political Action Committee made a $30,500 media buy, throwing its support behind Karmeier.
The Press Association started the ad program in April, where it sent out mailers to 600 papers asking to join the network on a CPM basis. Over 300 papers responded, including the Chicago Tribune and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, which has a Metro East section in the state. Hollman said that "all rates are commissionable to recognized agencies and parties."
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