Former U.S. Sen. Paul Simon to Discuss Free Air Time

July 2, 2002
CONTACT: 312-335-1767

Former U.S. Sen. Paul Simon to Discuss Free Air Time
Proposal at Public Forum on Tuesday, July 9

Broadcast coverage of election campaigns and a proposal to provide free air time to candidates will be the topic of a public forum on July 9 in Chicago.

Former U.S. Sen. Paul Simon and Paul Taylor, president of the Alliance for Better Campaigns, will examine the issue at the forum, which will begin at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 9, at the Union League Club, 65 W. Jackson Boulevard, Chicago.

The public is invited and can reserve a seat by calling the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform (ICPR) at 312-335-1767.

ICPR is part of the Free Air Time Coalition, which has begun a nationwide grassroots campaign to build support for proposals to require that television and radio stations provide free air time before all elections for candidate ads, debates and issue discussion. Simon is co-chair of the Free Air Time Coalition and is chair and founder of ICPR.

"Now that McCain-Feingold reforms are law, the next step in the reform process will be devising a free air time system that will reduce the demand for political money - and in the process open up political campaigns to more candidates, more ideas and more competition," said Cindi Canary, Director of the ICPR.

Last month, Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Russell Feingold (D-WI) unveiled the key elements of a bill that will reduce the cost and increase the flow of campaign communication on the nation's television and radio stations.

The new bill will require that television and radio broadcast license holders devote at least two hours a week in the period just prior to elections to candidate-centered and issue-centered programming, such as debates, interviews, and town hall meetings.
It also will create a voucher system that will enable qualifying candidates and political parties to place a reasonable number of ads on the television or radio stations of their choice. The voucher system will be funded by an annual spectrum usage fee on all broadcast license holders, amounting to not more than one percent of gross annual revenues.

Former Comptroller Loleta Didrickson, who ran in the 1998 Republican primary for the U.S. Senate nomination, will be a panelist and give the perspective of a candidate for statewide office. Representatives of Illinois broadcasters have been invited to appear on the panel.
The Free Air Time Coalition is made up of scores of local civic organizations and 30 national groups - including the AARP, the AFL-CIO, Common Cause, the League of Women Voters, the NAACP, Consumers Union, the National Council of Churches and the Youth Vote Coalition. It will be staffed by the Alliance for Better Campaigns.

The national coalition is led by the Alliance for Better Campaigns, which is co-chaired by former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford and former television anchorman Walter Cronkite.

More information about on the campaign is available at www.ilcampaign.org or by contacting ICPR at 312-335-1767.