Belo Provided 151 Candidates Free Airtime

Belo Corp. announced today that its stations provided free airtime to 151 congressional and gubernatorial candidates across the U.S. during the 2010 election season through the Company’s “It’s Your Time” program. In addition, Belo said it broadcast more than 162 hours of political coverage on its 15 news-producing television stations in the seven weeks leading up to Election Day.

From Sept. 19 to Nov. 1, Belo said its television stations aired an average of 72 local and national election-related stories each week. The coverage included 14 debates. Belo rebroadcast an average of 144 stories weekly on the company’s six regional and local cable news channels. The company also streamed and archived election-related stories and the debates on its 20 station Web sites through Election Day.

Other highlights of Belo’s election coverage included:

• A one-hour gubernatorial debate aired on KGW-TV, Belo’s NBC station in Portland, between incumbent Oregon Democrat Governor John Kitzhaber and Republican Chris Dudley;
• A one-hour Arizona U.S. Senate debate aired by KTVK, Belo’s independent station in Phoenix, between incumbent Republican John McCain and challengers Democrat Rodney Glassman, Libertarian David Nolan, and Green Party candidate Jerry Joslyn;
• A one-hour gubernatorial debate hosted by KTVB, Belo’s NBC station in Boise, between incumbent Idaho Republican Governor C. L. “Butch” Otter and challengers Democrat Keith Allred and Independent Jana Kemp; and,
• A one-hour Kentucky U.S. Senate debate aired on WHAS, Belo’s ABC station in Louisville, between Republican Rand Paul and Democrat Jack Conway.

Many Belo stations extended their political coverage this election season to multimedia platforms through webcasts, mobile media and interactive polls. KGW Portland, Ore., deployed 14 crews across Oregon and Washington, airing unique election coverage on its primary channel, its digital subchannels, its website and mobile applications.

“The political coverage our stations provide our local communities creates a more informed electorate and enhances dialogue with the voting public,” said Dunia A. Shive, Belo’s president-CEO. “Belo is pleased to give candidates a platform to air their positions on important issues through the ‘It’s Your Time’ program.”