Demand for Equal Time

Following my story this morning, the Alliance for a Better California is demanding that Univision give them time on political affairs show Voz y Voto: ALLIANCE REQUESTS EQUAL TIME FROM UNIVISION AFTER GOVERNOR’S “INFOMERCIAL” SACRAMENTO – The Alliance for a Better California today requested that Univision, the state’s largest Spanish language television, provide equal time to opponents of the governor’s initiatives after it provided the governor with an hour of free television time on its television program, “Voz y Voto.” Joe Nunez, chairman of the Alliance, wrote the Univision General Manager Diego Ruiz requesting that the station provide equal time for firefighters, teachers, police officers, and others that oppose the initiatives. Nunez noted that “unfortunately, your station has not offered the Alliance equal time.” Robert Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies, a campaign watchdog group, told the Capitol Weekly that “One would hope that they would offer time to the other side on this. When you are giving free time, it is always better to give both sides.” Harley Shaiken, a UC Berkeley professor and chair of the Center for Latin American Studies, told the newspaper that the Univision production “carries the mantle of being a TV show, not a paid advertisement.” According to Capitol Weekly, the Governor’s campaign has booked more than $2.3 million in television time on the network. The network’s chairman, Jerry Perenchio, has donated more than $3,250,000 to the Governor’s campaign. The Governor’s campaign team worked extensively to revise the format of the program. The show’s regular commentator, Arnoldo Torres, was pulled from the show. The station’s other co-host Xochitl Arellano, was limited in her questions. The audience was not selected by an independent research firm. Questions were prescreened by the station’s management.