News & Observer Editorial Commends Free Political Airtime

An editorial appeared in the Monday, April 3 edition of the News and Observer Newspaper commending Jim Goodmon for his public spirit when he committed Capitol Broadcasting Company's television stations to air free, issue oriented spots for political candidates running for the office of North Carolina Governor.

The newspaper hopes that the candidates took advantage of this opportunity that allowed them to focus on the issues at hand and stated this was, "a golden opportunity here to really let people know where they (the candidates) stand with substantive information." He echoed the common belief that too many people get their primary information about political candidates from 30-seconds TV spots that, unfortunately, usually focus on making someone else look bad.

The editorial also stated that hopefully, other stations would be willing to follow suit, although the newspaper admitted that time is what station owners have to sell to advertisers and, understandably, station's don't like to give it away.