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April 15, 2005
For immediate release.
Contact: Bryan Warner, N.C. Center for Voter Education,
(919) 839-1200

‘Spectrum of Democracy Award’ Presented to State & Local Broadcasters

RALEIGH – The N.C. Center for Voter Education presented the “Spectrum of Democracy Award” to four North Carolina broadcasters and television producers for their outstanding coverage of the 2004 elections.

“There’s plenty of room for improvement when it comes to television coverage of campaigns and elections, and people are always quick to complain about what’s wrong with the system,” said the Center’s Executive Director Chris Heagarty. “We thought it would be more constructive to point out and reward a job well done.”

The award is given to recognize responsible news coverage of the 2004 elections as well as other efforts designed to improve audience access to information about campaigns and elections. In selecting the recipients of this recognition, the Center sought information from television broadcasters all over the state and reviewed data such as variety of races covered, amount of time dedicated to each race, and special campaign coverage.

The recipients of the 2004 Spectrum of Democracy Award are (in alphabetical order):

Longworth Productions (Greensboro/Winston-Salem), producer of “Triad Today”, devoted a series of episodes to quality election coverage and candidate debates.

UNC-TV (statewide North Carolina) excelled in statewide election coverage through it’s “NC Now” program, which gave special attention to races for the N.C. Supreme Court and N.C. Court of Appeals, and offered voters a wide array of resources online.

WNCN-TV (Raleigh/Durham) offered solid campaign coverage, and its “At Issue” program gave voters an in-depth look at candidates and election-related topics.

WRAL-TV (Raleigh/Durham) served as an important voter resource, organizing a televised gubernatorial debate and offering extended election coverage on an all-news channel.

“The airwaves belong to the people, and so it is fitting that television organizations borrowing space on the spectrum give back to the people with meaningful service,” said Bryan Warner, director of communications for the N.C. Center for Voter Education. “These four recipients are excellent examples of how this powerful medium can be used to promote the democratic process in North Carolina.”

Among the laudable efforts of the award recipients, perhaps most exceptional was their giving free air time to candidates for positive, issue-oriented statements.

“While many stations are running only expensive and usually negative ads,” Heagarty noted, “these stations are helping reduce the influence of money in our elections by making it easier for voters to cast a ballot for whoever has the better ideas – and not necessarily the bigger checking account.”

Heagarty added, “We hope that others will follow the lead of these four, and that after the next round of elections we will find many more television producers deserving this award.”

The N.C. Center for Voter Education is a nonpartisan and nonprofit organization, dedicated to increasing informed voter participation and to promoting more inclusive elections.

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