This page is part of a undergraduate assignment for Davidson College
South Dakota
Geography and Media Markets
Geography
Geography can greatly influence how a campaign is conducted. Compared to other states South Dakota is sparsely populated, with an average density of 9.9 people per square mile (netstate.com, South Dakota). In contrast California, while much larger, maintains a high population density of 217.16 people per square mile (netstate.com, California).Such distributions lead to different strategies for running the campaign. In South Dakota candidates must deal with vast spaces and few people. It covers 77,121 square miles, but contains a population of 754,844. In recent years there has been a move to urbanization in the southeastern part of the state Urbanization increased density and casued different population groupings. The redistricting based on equal population groups, reflects this change.
In reaction to the geography, both candidates have created numerous regional offices to help run the campaign. Daschle has twenty two offices in large cities throughout the state and Thune has a similar distribution. Both placed their headquarters in the largest city, Sioux Falls (Daschel.com and johnthune.com). With its situation in the southeast the candidates favor the city because it brings them closer to constituents, thus reducing travel time. Moving towards the Northwest the population spreads itself. This poses a problem for personally visiting the constituents, especially with the headquarters located on the other side of the state.
Media Markets
The candidates, when broadcasting must consider the media markets. Such markets exist across the nation, divided into equal districts by population. Unlike voting districts, media markets are not bound by state lines. Shea and Burton illustrate a resulting problem.. New Jersey is part of two markets, one including Philadelphia and the other New York City. To reach the whole state the candidates have to secure ad time in both markets. They thus pay for ads to reach viewers in other states (Shea and Burton 2001). A similar situation occurs within South Dakota. South Dakota is part of five different media markets. Two of these markets are based in South Dakota. The coverage for these markets is primarily focused over the state. Although, the Rapid City market has half of its coverage outside the state. In the other markets, South Dakota comprises only a small portion of the area covered (Moss and Satterlee 2001).
Such a situation shapes the strategy of campaigning. Canidates mainly use broadcasting in the areas where the majority of coverage is in South Dakota. The markets including a few South Dakotan cities establish different tactics. Within the mixed markets a quarter of the larger cities are represented. This is a vast enough area to necessitate broadcasting, but it is not efficient to spend money and reach the wrong audiance. As a result candidates use cable franchises which cover more specific areas (Shea and Burton 2001).