The Commonwealth Club and a Consortium of Bay Area Media Outlets Sponsor Democratic Gubernatorial Primary Debate

The Commonwealth Club and a Consortium of Bay Area Media Outlets Sponsor Democratic Gubernatorial Primary Debate

SAN FRANCISCO, April 28 /PRNewswire/ -- A debate between Democratic gubernatorial hopefuls Phil Angelides and Steve Westly, sponsored by The Commonwealth Club and Bay Area media outlets The San Francisco Chronicle, CBS 5-TV, KCBS-AM, KQED-TV, KQED-FM and KDTV Univision 14, will be held on May 10.

The debate will be held at CBS 5-TV's San Francisco studio from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. It will be broadcast live on CBS 5-TV and simulcast live on KCBS-AM (740) and KQED-FM (88.5). KQED-FM will also re-broadcast the debate at 11 p.m. on May 10. KQED-TV will air the debate in its entirety on Channel 9 on May 11 at 11 p.m. and May 13 at 2 p.m., as well as on KQED World (Comcast channel 190) on May 11 at 10 p.m., May 13 at 4 p.m. and May 14 at 2:30 p.m. Both KQED-TV and KQED-FM will make it available to public broadcasting stations throughout California. KDTV Univision 14 will broadcast the debate with simultaneous Spanish interpretation on May 13 at 10 a.m.

"The sponsoring entities have forged a rare alliance of public and commercial broadcasters in order to bring the debate to as many California voters as possible. We appreciate that Mr. Angelides and Mr. Westly saw the value in reaching such a wide audience," said Greg Dalton, COO of The Commonwealth Club of California.

The debate will be moderated by CBS 5-TV political editor Hank Plante. The four reporter panelists will include Chronicle senior political reporter Carla Marinucci, KCBS reporter Doug Sovern, KQED Public Radio Sacramento bureau chief John Myers and KDTV Univision 14 news anchor Maria Leticia Gomez.

The tentative debate format calls for questions from the reporter panel and audience members and two-minute closing statements from each of the candidates. Candidates will not be permitted to see questions in advance.

Audience members will be screened to ensure a representation of constituencies throughout the Bay Area. Those wishing to be a part of the audience should contact Patricia J. Hoyt at phoyt@sfchronicle.com.

Members of the media wishing to watch the debate via an in-house feed and have access to the candidates post-debate must be credentialed by Akilah Monifa (amonifa@kpix.cbs.com).

The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum, established in 1903. Headquartered in San Francisco, the Club hosts speeches, debates, and discussions on topics of regional, national and international interest. Some of the world's most interesting and prominent people have appeared before the Commonwealth Club in its 103 year history. The Club has more than 18,000 members -- in the San Francisco Bay Area and across the nation -- and hosts about 400 events a year. As a nonprofit educational organization, the Club pays no honoraria or expenses to its speakers. It is consistently rated one of the most prestigious speaking venues in the country.

CBS 5/UPN Bay Area are part of the CBS Television Stations, CBS Television Stations division, one of the largest network-owned station groups consisting of 21 CBS, 15 UPN, one WB and two stations not affiliated with major networks. CBS 5 (www.cbs5.com) began in 1948 as the first television station in Northern California. UPN Bay Area (www.upnbayarea.com) began in 1968 as the first UHF station in the Bay area. The two stations became a CBS/UPN duopoly in 2002.

KCBS All News 740 AM is the Bay Area's only all news station, offering around the clock news, traffic, weather, sports and financial information. KCBS news reporting is unparalleled for its integrity and recognition. KCBS has won the National Edward R. Murrow Award for Overall Excellence four times, a feat unmatched by any large market radio station. KCBS roots go back to the world's first regularly scheduled radio broadcasts from San Jose in 1909. KCBS is owned and operated by CBS Radio.

KQED Public Broadcasting operates KQED Public Television 9, one of the nation's most-watched public television stations during prime-time, and KQED's digital television channels, which include KQED HD, KQED Encore, KQED World, KQED Life and KQED Kids; KQED Public Radio, the most-listened-to public radio station in the nation with an award-winning news and public affairs program service (88.5 FM in San Francisco and 89.3 FM in Sacramento); KQED.org, one of the most visited station sites in Public Broadcasting; and KQED Education Network, which brings the impact of KQED to thousands of teachers, students, parents and media professionals through workshops, seminars and resources.

KDTV Univision 14 is one of 62 owned and operated stations in the Univision Television Group, a division of Univision Communications Inc., the premier Spanish-language media company in the United States. Serving the Bay Area Latino community since 1975, KDTV features culturally relevant programming exclusively in Spanish, including the Bay Area's only local daily Spanish-language newscast, "Noticias Univision 14."

The San Francisco Chronicle is the Bay Area's leading news and information source and has been connecting the region with its award winning journalism since its founding in 1865. Combined with its online partner, SFGate.com, the daily San Francisco Chronicle reaches nearly 1.5 million Bay Area residents and the Sunday Chronicle reaches more than 1.6 million. The six time Pulitzer Prize-winning Chronicle is the nation's 10th largest daily newspaper and SFGate.com is the nation's fourth largest newspaper website with 6.5 million monthly unique visitors and over 75 million monthly page views.

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

CONTACT: Patricia J. Hoyt of The San Francisco Chronicle,
+1-415-777-6174; Akilah Monifa, +1-415-765-8842; or Riki Rafner,
+1-415-597-6712

Web site: http://www.sfgate.com/

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