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What is WRKO afraid of? Let Jill Debate!
Petition published by Eli Beckerman on Jun 07, 2010
170 Signatures 
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Target: WRKO-AM, VP of Programming Jason Wolfe and hosts Tom Finneran and Todd Feinburg
Region: United States of America
Web site: http://democracydays.com
Petition Background (Preamble):
WRKO-AM 680, "Boston's Talk Station", will be broadcasting a live, in-studio debate between Governor Deval Patrick and GOP gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker. Independent candidate Tim Cahill was invited to participate, but has not currently agreed to participate. This live debate will take place on Wednesday, June 16th, from 7-8am, on the "Tom and Todd" show, followed by an hour of analysis of the debate by hosts Tom Finneran and Todd Feinburg.
This WRKO debate is sponsored by the SBLI insurance company, Weichert Realtors, and a lobbying coalition called the Massachusetts Right to Repair Coalition.
There are 4 viable candidates for governor of Massachusetts in 2010, and WRKO and "Tom and Todd" have decided to invite 3 of them for a debate. As the first broadcast debate of this election, it is highly objectionable and suspicious that this corporate-funded debate is excluding the one candidate who refuses money from corporate lobbyists and from corporate executives who hire lobbyists.
Democracy requires that voters have access to all the information and ideas that would make for an informed decision. Excluding candidates on the basis of their ideas, or the size of their campaign warchest, is an attack on democracy itself. Since Stein's poll numbers jumped from 3% to 8% after the invitation went out to Patrick, Baker, and Cahill, and she now trails Cahill by just 6 percentage points, shutting out her voice is inexcusable.
This WRKO debate is sponsored by the SBLI insurance company, Weichert Realtors, and a lobbying coalition called the Massachusetts Right to Repair Coalition.
There are 4 viable candidates for governor of Massachusetts in 2010, and WRKO and "Tom and Todd" have decided to invite 3 of them for a debate. As the first broadcast debate of this election, it is highly objectionable and suspicious that this corporate-funded debate is excluding the one candidate who refuses money from corporate lobbyists and from corporate executives who hire lobbyists.
Democracy requires that voters have access to all the information and ideas that would make for an informed decision. Excluding candidates on the basis of their ideas, or the size of their campaign warchest, is an attack on democracy itself. Since Stein's poll numbers jumped from 3% to 8% after the invitation went out to Patrick, Baker, and Cahill, and she now trails Cahill by just 6 percentage points, shutting out her voice is inexcusable.
Petition:
To Jason Wolfe, Tom Finneran, and Todd Feinburg:
I am signing this petition asking that WRKO's "Tom and Todd" show, in recognition of basic democratic principles of inclusion and the general legal requirement of providing equal time to opposing political candidates, invite third-party candidate Jill Stein to participate in its June 16th gubernatorial debate.
I strongly believe that selecting 3 out of 4 viable candidates for inclusion in your broadcast debate is a misuse of our public airwaves, a disservice to your listeners, and anti-democratic in nature. Please correct that perception by extending your debate invitation to Dr. Stein.
I am signing this petition asking that WRKO's "Tom and Todd" show, in recognition of basic democratic principles of inclusion and the general legal requirement of providing equal time to opposing political candidates, invite third-party candidate Jill Stein to participate in its June 16th gubernatorial debate.
I strongly believe that selecting 3 out of 4 viable candidates for inclusion in your broadcast debate is a misuse of our public airwaves, a disservice to your listeners, and anti-democratic in nature. Please correct that perception by extending your debate invitation to Dr. Stein.
The What is WRKO afraid of? Let Jill Debate! petition to WRKO-AM, VP of Programming Jason Wolfe and hosts Tom Finneran and Todd Feinburg was written by Eli Beckerman and is in the category Politics at GoPetition. Contact author here. Petition tags: democracy, media fairness, independent politics, gubernatorial debates, massachusetts, deval patrick, charlie baker, tim cahill, jill stein, green-rainbow party, green party
