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Cronkite urges broadcasters to broaden political coverageBy Ted Barrett/CNN
December 8, 1999 WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Walter Cronkite warned television station operators Monday their FCC license renewals will be challenged if they do not improve coverage of political campaigns. "We simply have to take American democracy off the auction block," Cronkite, former CBS News anchor, said while promoting a proposal by the Alliance for Better Campaigns. The alliance is asking television networks and stations to donate five minutes of nightly airtime to political discourse in the closing weeks of election campaigns.
"If it doesn't work voluntarily, the pressure on them (stations) at renewal time will be immense," he said. Cronkite's complaint is that TV stations are earning millions from candidates' advertising while providing little to no news coverage about the candidates, the issues, and the campaigns. That disparity, he says, violates the promise stations make to "serve their communities." The alliance launched a project Monday to increase political coverage by pressuring stations to increase coverage and by closely monitoring that coverage throughout the 2000 campaign. "We will be working with the alliance to challenge television broadcasters to step up and play a more positive and constructive role in our nation's political life," Meredith McGehee of Common Cause said. Common Cause, the League of Women Voters, academic institutions, and other groups will work with the alliance on the project. To spotlight the issue, the organization released data concerning the recent Philadelphia mayoral race. Four nights before election day, according to the Alliance, WPVI-TV, the city's top rated station, aired 13 30-second ads for two mayoral contenders whose campaigns paid $69,400.
Over the same period, the station broadcast two hour of local news that contained a total of 1 minute and 2 seconds of "candidate discourse." Cronkite predicted TV stations will go along with their proposal. He said right now station managers are simply unaware of the problem. "We will have the magnifying glass on each station in the country --to the money they make out of the political campaigns and the time they give back in the public interest in covering those campaigns," Cronkite said. MORE STORIES:Monday, December 6, 1999
• New Jersey woman arrested in campaign finance probe • White House launches program to answer e-mail questions • NHPrimary.com: Gore serves as 'anniversary gift' for couple • Des Moines Register: Bradley courts Gore constituencies • Mrs. Clinton packs for move, plans Washington Christmas • Clinton criticizes China, Russia on human rights • Investigators say USDA squandered money on new ventures • Bradley says he'll promote racial understanding • Hillary Clinton's spokeswoman stepping down • U.S. Supreme Court to revisit its Miranda decision | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
