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May 26, 2006 -- Broadcasters Urged to Beef Up Election Coverage -- In a letter mailed today to every television station general manager in the nation, the Campaign Legal Center, Common Cause and the Benton Foundation called on broadcasters to provide their viewers with substantive coverage of this year's elections. General managers nationwide were urged to encourage their news staffs to tackle significant election issues in order to engage and educate viewers.
The organizations reminded broadcasters of their responsibilities as the primary source of election information for voters. A list of resources was also compiled by the organizations designed to help broadcasters improve their election coverage, meet their public interest obligations and understand the legal requirements related to political broadcasting.
The full letter to broadcasters is below.
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May 26, 2006
Dear Broadcaster:
As you know, local broadcast stations are the primary source of election information for voters. With the 2006 midterm elections upcoming, we are writing to strongly urge you and your station to give high priority to providing coverage of these elections and to finding innovative and significant ways to provide candidates access to the airwaves so they can speak directly to the voters. We encourage you and your station to make a public commitment to do your part to further the public discourse around these political campaigns.
Our organizations have compiled a number of resources to help broadcasters better serve the public during this election season. We encourage you to visit the links listed below for more information:
We are convinced that television journalists, if given support from management, have the ability and creativity to show your audience the truly interesting and compelling issues that are a part of our nation's elections at all levels of government. But making candidates, campaigns and elections more compelling television means avoiding the easy way out - it means going beyond coverage that focuses predominantly on the horserace aspects of elections, or on short sound bites that don't allow voters to get meaningful information about candidates' views and positions. We believe, with a strong commitment from the top, your station can move beyond some of the more ineffective national traditions of campaign coverage to create new, more dynamic and engaging programming about the 2006 elections. Without a presidential race there will be more opportunity to focus on state and local issues, which as the local licensee, your station has a special responsibility.
The National Association of Broadcasters recently sent out a questionnaire asking about your station's planned activities for the 2006 elections (The Election 2006 Station Debate Tracker and Log of Voter Education Activities). We also encourage you to get a copy of Election 2006, also released by the NAB, which seeks to facilitate broadcasters' involvement in elections. If you have not already received this guidebook, click here to request a free copy.
We believe that broadcasters are uniquely positioned to provide outstanding service with their election coverage. We also believe it is a critical part of their licensee obligations. O ur organizations would appreciate knowing about your plans for campaign coverage. We will recognize those stations that are meeting their commitment as public trustees to serve their communities by providing substantial and informative election coverage. We look forward to seeing your station on that list.
Sincerely,
Benton Foundation, Campaign Legal Center, Common Cause |
