Belo Offers Free Airtime to Candidates for Seventh Consecutive Election Cycle and Commits to 2008 Political Coverage
April 21 2008 - 4:00PM
PR Newswire (US)
DALLAS, April 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Belo Corp. (NYSE:BLC),
which in 1996 became the first commercial television station group
to provide free airtime for congressional and gubernatorial
candidates, announced that it will offer the "It's Your Time"
program for the seventh consecutive election cycle this fall. The
Company also announced election coverage plans, stating that Belo's
news-producing stations will televise at least one hour of
political coverage each week in the six weeks prior to the general
election on November 4. The Company's election coverage in 2008 may
include debates, issue- and ad-watch programming, and interviews
with local, state and federal candidates. Debates and "It's Your
Time" spots will be streamed and archived on Belo Web sites through
Election Day. In 2006, Belo stations broadcast more than 150 hours
of election coverage from mid-September through Election Day in
November, including several congressional and gubernatorial
debates. Candidates participating in "It's Your Time" each receive
five minutes of free airtime -- four minutes to tell viewers why
they should be elected and one minute to answer a question specific
to the candidate's individual race. In 2006, 146 qualified
candidates for U.S. House, U.S. Senate and state gubernatorial
offices participated in "It's Your Time," receiving more than 13
hours of free airtime. Since the program's inception, Belo has
provided free airtime to almost 700 candidates. "Belo has a deep
commitment to providing robust election coverage that helps create
an informed electorate in the local communities we serve," said
Dunia A. Shive, Belo's president and Chief Executive Officer.
"Since Belo's introduction of this program, other broadcast
companies have joined Belo's efforts and are also voluntarily
providing free airtime in their respective markets." Belo's
coverage plans prior to the election include: -- News-producing
television stations in Belo markets will broadcast at least one
hour of issue- or candidate-centered election coverage per week.
This may include candidate interviews, live debates, and issue- and
ad-watch programming. Most stories will be locally produced, with
assistance from Belo's Capital Bureau in Washington, D.C., and will
cover federal, state and local races. -- Belo Web sites will make
the information readily available to voters in each of Belo's
markets. For example, candidate issue statements and
question-and-answer sessions will be posted through Election Day,
and e-town meetings will be hosted on several of Belo's Web sites,
allowing voters to express their opinions and gather information on
relevant local issues in an online setting. Belo Web sites also
will provide voter registration information and links to helpful
voting-related sites. -- Belo's regional and local cable news
channels will offer a variety of programming, including one-on-one
candidate interviews, single-issue debates, and replays of "It's
Your Time" segments and Belo election coverage. About Belo Belo
Corp. is one of the nation's largest pure-play publicly-traded
television companies, with annual revenue of approximately $775
million. The Company owns and operates 20 television stations
reaching more than 14 percent of U.S. television households,
including ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CW and MyNetwork TV affiliates, and
their associated Web sites, in 15 highly-attractive markets across
the United States. Belo stations consistently deliver distinguished
journalism for which they have received significant industry
recognition including nine Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University
Silver Baton Awards; nine George Foster Peabody Awards; and 19
national Edward R. Murrow Awards -- all since 2000, and in each
case more than any other commercial station group in the nation.
Nearly all Belo stations rank first or second in their local
market. Belo owns stations in seven of the top 25 markets in the
nation, with six stations located in the fast-growing, top-14
markets of Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Seattle/Tacoma and Phoenix.
Additionally, the Company has leveraged its local television assets
to create regional cable news channels in Texas and the Northwest
increasing its impact in those regions. Additional information is
available at http://www.belo.com/ or by contacting Paul Fry, vice
president/Investor Relations & Corporate Communications, at
214-977-6835. DATASOURCE: Belo Corp. CONTACT: Paul Fry, vice
president, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications of
Belo Corp., +1-214-977-6835 Web site: http://www.belo.com/
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