The Moderator Who Wasnt There

Wisconsin Public Television   : Madison, Wisconsin

air date » 5.Sep.02
clip run time » 6:32

contributed by Andy Burn the Podia Moore, Senior News Producer, Wisconsin Public Television

Wisconsin is in the midst of the first Tommy Thompson-less Gubernatorial election since 1982. With 15 years of Republican rule in the Badger State, its no surprise state Democrats ponied up three very presentable 2002 primary candidates. Last spring, I began imagining debate formats that could best reveal who these people are and what they stand for.

Since joining the news staff at Wisconsin Public Television in 1987, Ive produced over 50 candidate debates and political joint appearances for races ranging from everything from Congress to Governor to Supreme Court seats. As this years primary came into sight, I focused on a no-moderator debate approach. No what? No moderator, no 60-second responses, no rebuts, no opening/closing statements, etc.

Why keep journalists and moderators out of the debate?

While journalists (and voters) ask good questions, the number one complaint I get from viewers post-debates is the sense that the candidates dont bother answering those questions. Even if participants were dedicated to answering whats asked in a debate, everyone knows a candidate cant possibly outline a solution to, say, state corrections reform, in a minute. Theyre more than happy to be interrupted after 60 seconds of trying. Therefore, I believe moderated formats tend to encourage canned speeches rather than preclude them.

Ive grown weary of another traditional debate practice. Candidates love to accuse their debate opponent of terrible things, as long as the candidate can direct those accusations to a moderator. Would they be as quick to do that if no moderator was present?

What if the candidates were asked to talk among themselves on a given topic for an hour? This is the question I posed to the We the People/Wisconsin Civic Journalism Partnership, the media organization that sponsored our primary debate.

On Thursday, September 5 (Wisconsins primary is September 10), the three Democratic primary candidates for governor did just that. The event was broadcast live, prime time, state-wide from our Madison studio. The set space was very intimate. A studio audience of 75 sat in a circle around the candidates who sat breath-mint close to one another at a bistro-size table. It helped that we had a sturdy topic: what to do about the states projected $1.3 billion deficit. It also helped that we had three accomplished career public servants as candidates.

It would be hard to say where our moderator-less forum did not work. Its certainly a credit to the three individuals who participated, but its also a wonderful by-product, in my opinion, of how ready an approach like this is for the current political culture. The whole thing had the feel of a grand experiment. There was a terrific, and I mean big time, buzz leading up to it.

Fifty-three minutes of uninterrupted candidate conversation.

The discussion took off from the start. There was plenty of substance, some of which was turf never before treaded. A look through the state newspaper accounts of the event read like a compression of two weeks worth of campaign coverage.

There was humor. There was drama. The format humanized the candidates. They were full of specifics, but they actually sounded like real people. What does that translate to?

In my opinion that translated to 30% more viewers finding and actually staying with a political event on television folks who would have turned away in the first ten minutes with a traditional forum. It was really something to see.

A variety of state party (both Democratic and Republican) heavies told me that the inside word before the debate was that this approach was bizarre and stupid. So I took even more pleasure when they went on to tell me, nearly slackjawed, how meaningful it was.

I dont believe there was an actual winner, which I think says something mostly positive about the affair as well. Others of course, plenty of others, are having no trouble picking winners.

Initially, my executive producer was nearly as dubious about this format as the candidates themselves were. My boss got on-board quick. The candidates did, eventually. As much as the participants finally accepted the approach, Ive never seen candidates more pie-eyed and nervous ten minutes before a debate. This says something about how the candidates perceived the formats safeness. I thought one was going to have to be physically extracted from his dressing room by his campaign staff.

Can this work with other candidates...any old group of candidates? Depends. But after last weeks success, I can put this thing on the table, with confidence, for candidates who are far more raw wood than these were.

[ from the Wisconsin State Journal]

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