Los Angeles Times and CNN to Co-Sponsor California Recall Debate

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 27, 2003 – The Los Angeles Times and CNN announced today that they will jointly sponsor a debate among the major candidates running for governor in California’s recall campaign. The debate will be held in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Sept. 30, one week before the Oct. 7 recall election. CNN will air the debate live, beginning at 6 p.m. PDT.

Gov. Gray Davis and active candidates on the California ballot who have garnered the support of at least 10 percent of likely voters in Los Angeles Times or Field polls will be invited to participate by the Los Angeles Times and CNN.

The debate will be broadcast nationwide on CNN and made available live to CNN’s 59 broadcast affiliates in California. The debate also will be broadcast in Spanish on CNN en Español and carried by CNN en Español RADIO.

“We’re very pleased to co-sponsor this debate as a service to our readers and other voters in California,” said John Puerner, publisher, Los Angeles Times. “We expect the debate to be one of the most interesting political events of this unprecedented election.”

“The California recall election will be a watershed event in state politics,” said Teya Ryan, executive vice president and general manager of CNN/U.S. “Viewers across the country are following the story with interest, and a debate will offer insights about the candidates that viewers will find worthwhile.”

The Los Angeles Times, a Tribune Publishing company, is the largest metropolitan daily newspaper in the country and winner of 30 Pulitzer Prizes, including three this year in national reporting, feature writing and feature photography. The Times publishes five regional editions covering the Los Angeles metropolitan area, Orange and Ventura counties, the San Fernando Valley, and an Inland Empire edition covering Riverside and San Bernardino counties, as well as a National edition.

CNN, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., an AOL Time Warner Company, is one of the world’s most respected and trusted sources for news and information. Its reach extends to 16 cable and satellite television networks; two private place-based networks; two radio networks; wireless devices around the world; nine Web sites, including CNN.com, the first major news and information Web site; and CNN Newsource, the world’s most extensively syndicated news service.