Alaska News

TV station offering free air time to all Alaska political candidates

In a press release sent out on Monday, KYES Channel 5 announced it is offering free air time to Alaska political candidates running for office this year.

The press release says in part:

"It's a dangerous truth that most candidates for public office these days can't afford to let the public know what they stand for. This gives candidates with special-interest money an unhealthy edge on Election Day and leaves voters forced to make important choices without information they need.

Jeremy Lansman, owner of [the] television station…said the 'alarming fallout from the recent Citizens United U.S. Supreme Court decision has given large corporations more freedom of speech than the rest of us. Channel 5 hopes to help correct this imbalance.'"

The TV channel will reserve 10 percent of available commercial time to airing candidate statements, according to their guidelines. Candidates can submit statements as a DVD, flash drive, CD, or upload a video on YouTube or Facebook. Statements will run for 30 seconds, all in equal rotation.

According to its website, KYES Channel 5 is the only locally owned TV station in Anchorage.

More information on how to submit statements is available, here.

Craig Medred

Craig Medred is a former writer for the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Dispatch and Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2015.

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