"Law & Order" Raises Equal Time Questions

[DeepModem Mom]

WP: Contemplating a Run for Office Can Complicate Television Reruns
By Chris Cillizza And Shailagh Murray
Sunday, July 15, 2007; Page A02


The potential candidacy of Fred D. Thompson, shown on the set of the TV show "Law & Order," poses a problem for NBC's summer schedule. (By Matt Moyer -- Associated Press)

....this summer, the rerun season carries with it some political intrigue. Why? Because NBC is preparing to air a series of "Law & Order" repeats featuring -- you guessed it -- Fred D. Thompson.

Hoping to avoid violating a Federal Communications Commission provision that would force the network to provide equal time to other candidates running for president, NBC chief lobbyist Robert Okun has reached out to the GOP presidential campaigns of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, among others, to inquire whether they would make a major issue out of Thompson being featured in reruns this summer.

Under the equal-time rule, if a network gives time to one political candidate, it is required to provide the same amount of airtime to his or her opponents. In other words, if Thompson appeared on a "Law & Order" episode for 10 minutes during prime time, NBC would have to give Thompson's rivals for the Republican nomination 10 minutes of prime time each.

"The equal-time requirement applies when the person has legally qualified as an official candidate in a relevant state -- for example, having his or her name formally approved to be on a state's primary ballot -- not merely when he/she declares his or her intent to run," an NBC spokeswoman said. "If Fred Thompson formally announces his intention to run for president, NBC will not schedule any further repeats of 'Law & Order' featuring Mr. Thompson beyond those already scheduled, which conclude on Saturday, September 1st."

All this may be much ado about nothing, however, because recent rumors have Thompson waiting until the fall to make his candidacy official, a move that would mean "Law & Order" lovers could get their fill of tough-talking District Attorney Arthur Branch all summer long.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/14/AR2007071400943.html?hpid=sec-politics

[TwilightGardener]

1. I think the reruns will actually hurt him--the more people

are familiar with him as an actor, and can form immediate comparisons between his TV character and his disappointing actual self, the less they will take him seriously. Reagan stopped acting (uh, at least paid professional acting) years before he ran--he stuck a few terms as Governor of CA in there as a buffer before he became Prez.

[Doctor_J]

2. The scripts have had Arthur's fascist views go unchallenged

the show's veered rightward for many years now, so this may be an issue, but it's a drop in the bucket compared to the "news" channels.

[Igel]

3. That's silly.

I recall people being a bit irate in 2000 that Clinton was on the news--of course, he was president--and that the news channels didn't give all his opponents equal time.

Then again, I remember that in 1996, 1992, 1988, and 1984. Didn't much pay attention in '82.

Same goes for books. If Barnes and Noble has Obama's books on display, will they have to put out every other candidate's books--and a poster presentation for candidate's without books?