FIT debates-fair, informative and tantalizing : Fair, informative and tantalizing debates

The press secretaries for both candidates complained about the composition of the panel of journalists, the networks complained about foregone advertising revenue and programme preemption, academics complained that the process trivialized the issues, while media critics grumbled that the debates were not entertaining enough because the “program’s rigid format reigned in the candidates”6. [...] FIT Debates – Fair, Informative and Tantalizing: Reforming federal election debates in Canada Centre for the Study of Democracy, Queen’s University, September 2009 9 dissolution of Parliament, 10% in the national opinion polls in the lead-up to the election, and being federally funded, the Greens were hopeful for inclusion in the debates as “in order to exclude [them] the Consortium would have to [...] Of this demographic, 40% was unable to name the leaders of political parties during the last ten days of the 2004 election – 40% were unable to identify the Liberal leader; 53% for the Conservative leader; 66% for the leader of the NDP. [...] The Interests at Stake In the leaders’ debate there are three interests at stake: the interests of the parties, the interests of the networks, and the interests of the people. [...] CBC and CTV at the onset of the campaign, the Liberals insisted that the debate be carried on all networks, include the leaders of all five parties with seats in the house, and be bilingual.