Coleman's two-second mistake could cost millions

Sen Norm Coleman (R-MN) recently produced an ad featuring former Minnesota Lt. Gov. Sandy Keith attacking Al Franken (D-MN). To receive the "lowest unit charge" - which can sometimes be half of typical rates -- Sen Coleman must include a disclaimer saying he approved the message. He also needs to broadcast his own likeness for a minimum of four seconds. He got the first part right -- and got the second part half-right. "Though the written disclaimer does appear for four seconds, Coleman's image only appears for the last two seconds of the advertisement," wrote Franken's counsel Marc Elias of Perkins Coie, in a letter to 11 Minnesota station managers. It's a loser-pays-all kind of law, according to Elias: If a campaign violates the rule once, it loses the discount for the "duration of the current election cycle." If the rule were to be vigorously enforced in this case, it could cost Sen Coleman millions. But the law has never been seriously enforced - and the decision on the rate charge has often been left up to the discretion of individual stations.