ELECTION COVERAGE
2004
Supreme Court Election

WE THE PEOPLE TO AIR TWO LIVE U.S. SENATE DEBATES

Primary Forum to be held Sept. 10, General Debate Oct. 22 in Madison

We the People/Wisconsin will air two, live, statewide forums this fall. On Friday, September 10th, the 13-year-old media coalition will host a one-hour forum with the four Republican candidates running for U.S. Senate – Russ Darrow, Robert Gerald Lorge, Tim Michels and State Sen. Bob Welch. The winner of the Sept. 14th primary will then face-off against Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., during a Friday, Oct. 22nd statewide debate.

Both forums will air from 7 to 8 p.m. on Wisconsin Public Television and Wisconsin Public Radio and will be rebroadcast on other stations across the state. Citizens are eligible to attend the forum by calling 1-800-853-5294.

The Sept. 10th primary forum will depart from the standard question-and-answer format. Instead, candidates will be asked to discuss with each other (and later citizens in the studio audience) their ideas and solutions for tackling current issues that face the U.S. Senate.

The forum will be primarily un-moderated. Frederica Freyberg, anchor of Wisconsin Public Television’s “Here and Now” show, will explain the premise. Then, the candidates will be largely on their own.

“It's a chance to see how the candidates interact, communicate and relate to others who challenge their ideas,” said Tom Bier, station manager of WISC-TV (CBS, Madison) and president of We the People/Wisconsin. “The topics are a result of the conversations we had with citizens in the We the People ‘road trip’ series earlier in the year.”

Citizens that were interviewed during We the People’s “On the Road” series this past spring expressed concerns about many issues, including taxes, jobs, health care and foreign affairs. Many of those citizens will also be present in the studio listening to the candidates. They will then have an opportunity to follow up with the candidates on what they said, or didn't say, during the hour, and hold those candidates accountable to the issues and topics most important to the citizens of Wisconsin.

“This approach is similar to We the People’s 2002 gubernatorial forums, in which we minimized the ‘middle man’ effect of a moderator. We believe this format offers greater opportunity to learn more about the candidates -- their policies, positions and personalities -- while still holding true to the issues the public stressed,” said Kathy Bissen, WPT executive producer for News and Public Affairs and a member of the We the People board.

We the People/Wisconsin is a multi-media partnership that aims to reconnect citizens with public life through town hall meetings, candidate forums and citizen-based reporting. The coalition includes the Wisconsin State Journal, Wisconsin Public Television, Wisconsin Public Radio, WISC-TV (Ch.3, Madison) and Wood Communications Group.

We the People/Wisconsin produces timely forums so that citizens can question political candidates, public officials -- and themselves. It does not advocate for any candidate, political party or movement. It advocates for readers, viewers and listeners by serving as a channel for conversations between citizens and public officials throughout Wisconsin.