Nov 20, 2003 -- Press Release: FCC should challenge broadcasters and cable entities to boost coverage of political discourse

The Campaign Legal Center this week urged FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell to issue a formal challenge to broadcasters and cable systems to increase coverage of campaign and election issues.

The amount of broadcast news coverage of campaign and election issues has continued to decline, particularly in recent years. For example, the average nightly national network television coverage dropped 71.6 % from 1994 to 2002, and the network evening news coverage of the presidential campaigns dropped 33% from 1996 to 2000.

In making the request of the Chairman, Amy Wolverton, Associate Counsel and Media Program Director of CLC, noted the success of other voluntary challenges to the media industry. In 2000, when as few as one-third of sampled stations complied with a voluntary commitment of 5 minutes of political coverage per night preceding the election, coverage was 79% higher than in 2002 when no such commitments were made.

In April of 2002, the Chairman issued a similar challenge to several industries in an effort to advance the transition to digital television. He had asked for networks to create more compelling content, equipment makers to produce better television sets, and for all involved to increase consumer accessibility. Virtually every industry embraced the plan, and the FCC has proudly reported that the transition is coming at pace.

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