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Daytime TV as Campaign Stop

'Low-info' voters, soft-pedaling hosts want personal details

By Michael Foreman, Newser User

Posted Jun 3, 2008 2:26 PM CDT

(Newser) – You know where they stand on gas prices, but what about pantsuits and family pets? Hillary Clinton, John McCain, and Barack Obama are making the rounds of daytime talk shows and celebrity gossipfests, courting "low-info" voters—those mostly white, working class, and undecided folks who haven't been paying much attention to the campaign. And besides pulling in millions more viewers than Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert, softer shows also go easier on guests, reports Newsweek.

The key demographic tunes into shows like "The View" and "Access Hollywood" to judge a candidate's likability, not his or her policy positions. Candidates can relax and pretend to be just like us. "Brian Williams isn't going to ask about their hair coloring," said the exec producer of "Access." "We will, because that's what our audience is interested in."

[Images (4)]

[Videos (1)]

Talk show host Tyra Banks asks Hillary Clinton to answer questions printed on tissues on "The Tyra Banks Show" Jan. 14, 2008. (AP Photo/Jason Kempin)

Presidential hopeful Barack Obama dances with Ellen DeGeneres on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" October 17,2007. (AP Photo)

Ellen DeGeneres welcomes John McCain during a taping of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" on May 21, 2008. (AP Photo)

Talk show host Tyra Banks welcomes Hillary Clinton to "The Tyra Banks Show" Jan. 14, 2008. (AP Photo/Jason Kempin)

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Daytime TV as Campaign Stop