Scripps Stations Expand Offer to Candidates

As part of “Democracy 2012,” Scripps television stations in all 13 of the company’s television markets will provide a minimum of five minutes of airtime to candidates nightly between 5 and 11:35 p.m. in the 30 days preceding the general elections.

The stations also will provide free airtime as needed during the 30 days preceding primary elections. The Scripps television station group had a similar free airtime policy during the national elections in 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010.

Democracy 2012 includes:

• An online portal for Florida voters,
• ‘Ask the Candidates’ web features,
• ‘Get out the vote’ public service announcements,
• Scripps stations will concentrate editorially on exploring key local issues during each of the 30 days leading up to the general election. Station leadership, through an interactive process with local individuals and citizen groups, will develop election coverage,
• special programming such as town hall meetings and debates during the 30 days leading up to the general election,
• partnering with the Center for Responsive Politics to offer Web-based, searchable databases that allow voters to research campaign contributions and follow the money trail from the sources all the way to the beneficiaries, and
• Scripps Howard News Service in Washington, D.C. is expanding to provide more election material specific to local markets.