Free TV Proposed For ‘Mini-Speeches’ Both Dole, Clinton Groups Approve Group’s Concept

A group seeking free TV access for the presidential campaign is proposing that candidates give a series of 2-1/2-minute “mini-speeches” for networks to air during the last four weeks before the election.

Bob Dole’s campaign has approved the concept, and officials with President Clinton’s re-election effort also said Wednesday they were enthusiastic about the idea, although it was too early to agree on a format.

The latest proposal was taken to the campaigns in hopes of eventually pressuring the major networks to provide unencumbered prime-time access to the candidates to directly address voters, said Paul Taylor, leader of the Free TV for Straight Talk Coalition and a former Washington Post reporter.

The coalition, in which former CBS anchor Walter Cronkite is also involved, won some free access promises from the networks last month. ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN and the Public Broadcasting Service all agreed to offer air time to the candidates during the final days of the campaign.

But the mishmash of proposals didn’t satisfy Taylor because most would make Dole, Clinton and thirdparty candidates part of existing news programs or specials.

“None of this gets to what I’m hopeful for - a night-to-night serial debate powerful enough to drown out political attacks. It would be something that could be transforming to the way campaigns are seen,” Taylor said.

Christina Martin, a spokeswoman for the Dole campaign, confirmed that Taylor has been negotiating for the specific format and that it was under serious consideration.

“The idea of free air time appears to be a good one,” Martin said, adding, “There’s still some need for refining.”

A spokesman for the Clinton campaign also praised Taylor’s latest concept as a way to give candidates a more direct voice in speaking to Americans.

“We’re going to be pursuing this with Paul Taylor, who has done great work on this,” said campaign spokesman Joe Lockhart. “But … we’re not far along enough to agree on a format.”

Under the proposal, the speeches by Dole, Clinton and most likely a third-party candidate would air, one a night, five days a week, from Oct. 7 until the Nov. 5 election, Taylor said.

Initially, the free TV coalition had proposed the candidates get up to five minutes of air time uninterrupted by commentary or journalists’ questions.