With political ads expected to hit a record, news stations can hardly keep up

With one of the most competitive Senate races in the country, political ads in Iowa are running nonstop on Des Moines station WHO-DT. And it can hardly keep up with the demand. At a time when fewer people are watching news on TV, the station added an hour-long daily news program focused on politics -- and hired four new journalists to fill the time -- just so it can sell more lucrative commercials.

Dollars are also flooding into modest local stations in Alaska, Arkansas and Kansas -- many unaccustomed to such demand, since they are not in traditional presidential battleground states. The ads are a boon for local news stations, which are struggling to retain their audience. Like newspapers, the local TV news business has been upended by the Internet, which has radically altered how people find out what’s going on in their communities. But one thing remains largely unchanged: the belief that television ads are the best way to reach voters.