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Article: Free TV time for candidates? (arguments against free television time for candidates)
- Article from:
- Campaigns & Elections
- Article date:
- December 1, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 Campaigns & Elections, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Providing free air time to candidates is the single most promising way to fix what ails electoral politics. It's not a complete fix. There's no such thing. But by reducing the cost and improving the discourse of campaigns, it has the potential to do more good than any other reform - without running afoul of the courts, the constitution or the political culture.
Let's parse the benefits one at a time.
Political candidates spent $25 million on television advertising in '72 and $500 million in '96 - that's an increase of nearly five times the rate of inflation. Television ads are the single largest component of this increase. They account for roughly ...