Free air time campaign

National Voter, Jan-Feb, 2003

Leagues in Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, South Carolina, and Los Angeles, CA, were busy this past fall educating voters about the free air time campaign. LWVUS President Kay Maxwell participated in two of the public meetings (MA and GA).

The LWV of Georgia sponsored a forum at the Carter Center in Atlanta in the fall that was attended by more than 100 citizens. Among the participants were Paul Taylor, president of the Alliance for Better Campaigns; Gloria Brownell-Tumbe, professor of political science and former Atlanta mayoral candidate; and the Reverend Joseph Lowry, co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

The LWV of Massachusetts worked with over 21 local Leagues and Common Cause and Democracy Matters; in early reports, their efforts had generated over 1500 names in support of the Free Air Time Proposals; second only to the state of California. In early October, more than 350 people attended their public forum on free air time. Joining the panelists were Paul Taylor and Thomas Patterson, Bradley Professor at the Kennedy School at Harvard and author of The Vanishing Voter. (Katherine K. Macdonald, LWV MA)

The LWV of North Carolina co-hosted a free air time forum with the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Panelists included representatives from the media, the political science and law school faculties, and LWVUS Vice-President Shelia Martin. Action kits for conducting forums in their own communities were distributed to attendees. (Mary Klenz, LWV NC)

The LWV of Los Angeles, CA, co-sponsored a very successful forum on free air time with the USC Annenberg School's Norman Lear Center in September. Over 120 people attended to hear Paul Taylor; Arianna Huffington, syndicated columnist; Dan Schnur, political consultant and communications director of McCain 2000, and others. Martin Kaplan, director of the Lear Center moderated the lively discussion. Working in coalition with Common Cause and the NAACP locally, the League also presented the concept of free air time to college students, medical professionals and business groups. (Judy Eisenberg, LWV of Los Angeles, CA)