Below is the media consortium letter sent to the Stein campaign on August 10. It says that they will admit Jill to their debates only if she meets three criteria.
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August 10, 2010
Daryl Sprague
info@jillstein.org
Jill Stein for Governor
This is an invitation for Dr. Stein to participate in two Massachusetts gubernatorial debates sponsored by a consortium of news media outlets in Boston and shared with broadcast stations in other cities in the state. The sponsoring media outlets include The Boston Globe, WCVB-TV (Channel 5), WHDH-TV (Channel 7), WGBH-TV (Channel 2), New England Cable News (NECN), WBUR, WTTK-FM, WBZ-AM, and Gatehouse Media.
The first debate will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, September 21. The second debate is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, October 26. The venues and formats will be determined in short order.
This invitation to participate is contingent on your candidate fulfilling all of the following criteria:
1. The candidate must have an established campaign headquarters with at least three paid staffers and communicates, on a daily basis, with recognized non-partisan media outlets such as television stations and newspapers.
2. The candidate must have raised at least $100,000 between January 1 and October 1 for the purpose of running for governor. .
3. The candidate must receive 5 percent in a poll conducted by a media organization or academic institution that is recognized by the Boston Media Consortium.
I’m sending this to you in your capacity as campaign manager. Could you acknowledge receipt, let me know who will be handling debate matters, and respond to the invitation as soon as possible? I’m reachable at the return email address, or at 617-929-3059.
Thanks very much.
Brian McGrory
The Boston Globe
Below is the media consortium letter sent to the Stein campaign on August 10. It says that they will admit Jill to their debates only if she meets three criteria.
– – –
August 10, 2010
Daryl Sprague
info@jillstein.org
Jill Stein for Governor
Stein Campaign Response to Debate Exclusion
Submitted on Sun, 09/12/2010 – 6:45pm
Category: Campaign News and Information
(In response to Media Consortium Letter.
August 20, 2010
POSITION OF THE STEIN CAMPAIGN ON DEBATE INCLUSION
This is the position of the Jill Stein campaign on debate inclusion:
All candidates that have qualified for the ballot under the election laws of the Commonwealth should be invited to participate in debates that use the public airways. We also think that fair treatment of all candidates is to be expected from the media corporations that are taking advantage of the privileges our society accords to journalistic enterprises. Those privileges are based on an assumption that journalists will contribute to the free and open dialogue that is essential to a healthy democracy. Journalists should refuse to be parties to any attempt to restrict the flow of information that voters need and deserve.