Sixty days out from any election, broadcast outlets are required by law to give political advertisers, with certain exceptions, their lowest unit rate for purchased spots. For some stations (primarily talk, news and market leaders) this can be a burden, for others (stations whose projected income for September and October is spotty) the sudden influx of ads is a gift.
And then there is the equal time issue: ads for Candidate A must be offered at the same rate and played in corresponding times as ads for Candidate B.
Some forms of political ads are exempt from this: ads bought by PAC's, for example, or issue ads.
There is a quick, legal and eminently fair fix that can be in place immediately for all of this, a fix that can actually increase a station's income during the pre-election period and enhance to the listeners the station's public service image.
Here's what I suggest:
-- Accept ALL unregulated PAC and issue advertising offered at full rates, or none at all, if you can fill those availabilities with "real" ads at full rates or better. You can, of course, set a limit on the number of PAC and issue ads accepted. Make them equal, just in case!
-- Accept NO paid ads from campaigns. Rather, offer each campaign for each office a similar number of FREE ads rotated through exact dayparts you choose for any time frame you choose prior to the election. For a two-party senatorial campaign, for example, you might offer each party forty-two free 60-second ads over the three weeks prior to the election: fourteen each week, ROS, equally distributed. Tell your listeners that you have given these spots away for free because of your commitment to the community.
-- Use occasional open avails and liners to explain to your listeners that you are aware of their disdain for political ads and have made an effort, within the law, to limit running such advertisements. You don't have to mention PAC or issue ads, or that you have substituted other fully-paid ads for politicals. Again, tell your listeners that you have given many of these political spots away for free because of your commitment to the community. The image you present will outweigh the reality.
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