Ten Years Ago... Clinton Offers Licensing Deal For Free TV Campaign Time

CLINTON OFFERS LICENSING DEAL FOR FREE TV CAMPAIGN TIME
[SOURCE: New York Times 3/12/1997, AUTHOR: James Bennet]
Saying the change could "help free our democracy from the grip of big money," President Clinton recommended that broadcasters give away air time to political candidates in exchange for new licenses to provide digital high-definition television. President Clinton sketched the plan that he would like the Federal Communications Commission to implement. He said time should be given to "all qualified Federal candidates" so that they could "talk directly to the voters without gimmicks or intermediaries." On the same day, the Times ran an editorial in favor of free time and another story -- "Crusader for Free Air Time Wins a Big Ally" -- on Paul Taylor's quest for free time for candidates. All this momentum helped win some of the airwaves back for democracy, right? Not so much. Ten years later, the FCC has yet to move on the free time proposals of the 1990s -- or on the public interest obligations of digital television broadcasters.
http://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=F7071FF6395D0C71...
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* A Shot of Courage
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40D11F7395D0C718DDDAA08...

* Crusader for Free Air Time Wins a Big Ally
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30B1EF7395D0C718DDDAA08...

* Excerpts From Clinton's Remarks on Political Reform
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10717F7395D0C718DDDAA08...

** For more on broadcasters' public interest obligations see:
http://www.benton.org/index.php?q=issues/obligations