fb tracking

Public Citizen Presses Broadcasters to Provide Free Time for Candidate Discourse

Sept. 14, 2000

Public Citizen Presses Broadcasters to Provide Free Time for Candidate Discourse

WASHINGTON, D.C. – – Public Citizen supports the Alliance for Better Campaigns’ effort to get TV broadcasters to allocate free time for candidate discourse. Today the Alliance for Better Campaigns launched a web site that challenges the television industry to air at least five minutes every evening of candidate discourse for a month prior to Election Day. This Web site, which can be downloaded at “GreedyTV.org,” is designed to give citizens the opportunity to contact their stations and demand free TV time for candidates.
 Free TV is intended to steer political candidates away from spending millions of dollars on superficial, often inflammatory political ads and toward substantive discussion of issues. Americans have a right to such meaningful debate and the television industry has the duty to stop profiteering on publicly owned airwaves at the expense of voter education.
 While Public Citizen supports the effort to improve the campaign finance system through the promotion of voluntary free TV time for candidates, it also strives for the more fundamental reform that would require broadcasters to provide free TV to those candidates who adhere to campaign spending limits.
 

Click here and/or call toll free 1-866-GREEDYTV to find out if your local TV station allocates air time to candidates and what you can do about it if they don’t.