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WKBN Channel 27 News is Youngstown’s first station to pledge to air candidate segments;
Ohio a leader in improving TV political coverage
For immediate release:
September 12, 2000
Contact:
Catherine Turcer, Ohio Citizen Action (614) 263-4111
Vidya Krishnamurthy, Alliance for Better Campaigns (202) 879-6761
The Alliance for Better Campaigns and Ohio Citizen Action today
applauded WKBN Channel 27 for pledging to devote a minimum of five
minutes nightly to candidate-centered discussion for the 30 days prior to
the election. WKBN is the first television station in the Youngstown to
make this commitment.
"This commitment to air short nightly candidate segments prior to
the election will help ensure that money isn’t all that talks during Ohio’s
election," said Catherine Turcer of Ohio Citizen Action. "This is a reform
that broadcasters can make happen this year."
Ohio is one of the nation’s leaders in improving political coverage
on television. WCPO and WLWT in Cincinnati, WEWS in
Cleveland, as well as WKBN, have pledged to air these nightly segments. Only Florida has more stations participating.
Roland Adesko, General Manager for WKBN said: "At 27 First News, we believe it is our goal, and in fact, our responsibility to do our
part to enlighten the voters on issues and candidates."
The Alliance for Better Campaigns, Ohio Citizen Action and a
coalition of national and state civic, religious and campaign reform groups have been
calling on the broadcast industry to make good on a presidential commission’s
recommendation on the public interest obligations of television stations to air five minutes
of candidate-centered discourse nightly for the month prior to the election. The Alliance is co-chaired nationally by Walter Cronkite, and former presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter.
"WKBN is among the handful of stations that have stepped up to the plate and
committed to giving viewers something better than attack ads and sound bites." said Paul
Taylor of the Alliance for Better Campaigns, "I urge other stations to follow WKBN's
lead."
"Broadcasters are in the position to bring substance and voters back to the ballot
box," said Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell. "By opening the airwaves to
brief nightly forums, broadcasters can create a meaningful debate among candidates and
reduce the dominance of money and ads in elections."
Ohio Citizen Action campaigns on issues from toxic waste and food safety to utility and insurance rates to political reform. A non-profit, non-partisan organization, Ohio Citizen Action was founded in 1975.
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