Warner vs. Gilmore: The Debate TV Won't Show You

Residents of northern Virginia could not see two former governors square off in hopes of being the next US senator from the state. Not on TV, at least. In every other market in Virginia -- even in extreme western Virginia where the local TV station is across the state line in Tennessee -- the debate between Mark Warner and Jim Gilmore was carried live on local TV. But not a single Washington TV station, despite all their promotional yammering about how much they care about this area, provided live coverage the only televised debate of this campaign. Local stations couldn't possibly air the debate at 7 p.m. because of the pressing, essential programming they provided instead: Channel 7 will fill the hour with "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy;" Channel 5 has late-breaking reruns of "The Simpsons" and "Seinfeld;" Channel 4 has NBC network news, followed by "Access Hollywood;" and Channel 9 is busy with local news and then "Entertainment Tonight."