K-School to Run Electoral Symposium

The Kennedy School of Government will help run an electoral reform conference next fall which may draw together all three living former presidents of the United States. It would apparently be the second such gathering ever, the first taking place in 1981 at former Egyptian president Anwar Sadat's funeral.

In addition to drawing Richard M. Nixon, Gerald R. Ford, and Jimmy Carter, the sponsors hope to bring 25 politicians, journalists academics, and senior government officials together to discuss the effects of the media on elections, voter turnout, and "equal-time" provisions.

The event will be co-sponsored by the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), and will be held either in Washington D.C. or at Harvard K-School professors will draw up a plan of action afterwards, and the participating policymakers will try to implement it, Kevin Gottlieb, a liaison between the K-School and ABC, said yesterday.

One for Three

All three former chief executives have received invitations to the September affair. A spokesman for Ford confirmed that he had accepted but aides to Nixon and Carter said they are still weighing the offer. "We have reason to believe we can get the acceptances of all three," Gottlieb said.

Hale Champion, executive dean of the K-School, refused to confirm any of the details, saying it was "still in the discussion stages."

The K-School has twice before hosted discussions between representatives of government and the media, but this is the first time such an event is expected to result in legislative reform.

The agenda will focus on two issues--voter participation and the quality of information the media distributes to citizens, ABC Vice-President George H. Watson, Jr. '58 said.

Reagan Too?

The participants will be chosen for their ability to implement change. As veterans of presidential campaigns, the former presidents are "the people with the most experience in how to phrase messages and attract voter attention."

Gottlieb added that they are considering inviting another great communicator. "If all three former presidents do decide to come and the White House finds out, we would have no objection to inviting Reagan."

ABC will pay for the entire event, using the symposium as a springboard for a one-to two-hour documentary on the media's role in electoral politics, Watson said.

ABC Chairman of the Board Leonard Goldenson first broached the idea to K-School officials when he came to speak in December. The conference was originally scheduled for this month, but in order to allow more thorough planning, it was put off until September.

The idea grew out of ABC's bi-monthly yearly program. Viewpoint, which provides a forum for critics of broadcasting. Next Thursday, ABC will air a similar forum on the media's coverage of elections live from the University of Missouri in which John Anderson, an independent candidate for president in 1980, and former California Gov. Jerry Brown will participate.