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Newsday Website Story
WABC Rejects Issue Ad Spot
By Jordan Rau and Dan Janison
STAFF WRITERS
April 22, 2002
Underlying Manhattan bankruptcy attorney Charles Juntikka's quixotic efforts to tighten New York's campaign finance laws is a belief that money should play a less prominent role in politics.
But in his latest crusade, Juntikka is learning that even money can't buy you influence, at least when it comes to one television station.
First, the back story. Earlier this month, Juntikka, a longtime political pot-stirrer, and his group of student activists, known as students4reform.com, created a series of television ads urging people to tell Pataki to support campaign finance reform, the latest of several reformist causes Juntikka's group has championed.
One ad portrayed politicians covered with oil and sticky dollar bills; the ad intoned that "it's time to clean up politics." Another series of ads took on Gov. George Pataki, urging viewers to call the governor's office and urge him to approve campaign finance reform legislation or resign.
Juntikka bought television time in Rochester and a few other areas of the state. But when he approached the ABC affiliate in New York City, WABC/Ch. 7, the station refused to air the ads.
"Generally, we don't take issue advertising spots," said Thomas Kane, the station's manager. "We will take one if it's a real softball, if it's good for everybody. I'm not in the business of letting people pick fights over the air. This spot came up, we looked at it, and we said, 'No way.' "
The rejection didn't sit well with Juntikka, largely because of a conversation he had-and secretly tape-recorded-with one of the station's sales representatives. The representative told him that the station "got a call yesterday regarding some issue advertising and we don't know if we are going to take this particular issue."
When Juntikka pressed the issue, the sales representative said, "Someone knew it was coming from the Pataki camp or something like that," according to the tape recording.
Juntikka surmised that the station refused to run the ads because of pressure from the governor's office.
"Politicians, Pataki especially, spend millions of dollars on their own ads," Juntikka said. "Why are they so afraid of these students who say will you please support campaign finance reform? They certainly run for those state-funded ads for Pataki. I guess we can only see his face in a positive face in the media."
However, both the television station and Pataki aides said that no one attempted to stop the ads from running. They said the telephone calls were routine inquiries that the campaign's advertising firms make to keep track of how much time their opponents are purchasing.
Kane said Juntikka's charge that the Pataki campaign squelched the ads was "a wild accusation." Pataki spokeswoman Lisa Dewald Stoll said: "Clearly this group is trying to use the media with a bogus story to try to raise money for themselves and unfortunately they seem to be having success ... "
Copyright © 2002, Newsday, Inc
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