Local TV stations ‘gouged’ candidates during 2000 political campa...
Local TV stations “gouged” candidates during 2000 political campaigns by taking advantage of “loopholes” in lowest unit charge (LUC) provision of Communications Act, Alliance for Better Campaigns charged Thurs. Alliance said candidates in top 75 markets spent $771 million…
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on 484 TV stations -- 65% more than they should have been charged under LUC. When all 210 TV markets are included, Alliance estimated candidates spent about $1 billion for TV time last year. Figure doesn’t include so-called “soft money” spending by advocacy groups, which isn’t subject to LUC restriction. Report, titled Gouging Democracy, claims stations “steered candidates” toward paying premium rates for “nonpreemptible” spots and “as election day neared, these premiums rose.” Alliance Exec. Dir. Paul Taylor charged that “television broadcasters are driving up the cost of politics for their own profit. Worse, they're doing it with a valuable public resource [spectrum] entrusted to them, free of charge, on condition that they serve the public interest.” Alliance quoted Senate Commerce Committee Chmn. McCain (R-Ariz.), prime supporter of campaign reform act that’s scheduled for Senate vote later this month, as saying: “The television industry has become the leading cause of the high cost of modern political campaigns. It needs to become part of the solution.” NAB official disputed contention that stations were steering candidates toward nonprotected rates under LUC, saying broadcasters were complying with that restriction.