MPBS says no to airtime for Mendros

BANGOR – Officials of the Maine Public Broadcasting System have decided against allowing additional on-air television time for Stavros Mendros, a Republican candidate for Congress who missed a May 31 debate taping at PBS studios in Bangor that was attended by his three competitors for the Republican nomination.

The decision has angered Mendros’ campaign manager, who on Tuesday questioned the politics behind the refusal and then said nobody watches the televised debates anyway.

“We’re very disappointed with Maine public television,” said Andrew Csoros of Lewiston, who identified himself as Mendros’ campaign manager. Csoros called the circumstances behind the missed appointment “fishy” and said Mendros had received e-mails with the wrong taping time on them.

The half-hour debate among candidates for the 2nd District GOP nomination was taped at 9 a.m. Friday, May 31. It originally was scheduled for a 1 p.m. taping that day, but rescheduling had taken place at least three weeks earlier and all parties were notified, according to PBS staff.

Csoros said the mix-up, while galling, is “not a concern.”

“We’re willing to overlook it because nobody watches it and the only reason they know it [the debate] is on is because Stavros didn’t attend,” Csoros said.

Rhonda Morin, a spokeswoman for Maine Public Broadcasting, said that after consulting with attorneys for the PBS station, Kate Arno, vice president for television services, and Rob Gardiner, president and general manager of Maine Public Broadcasting, “decided that though it was unfortunate and we’re sorry Mr. Mendros was not able to attend last Friday’s debate, we will not be making additional airtime available.”

Morin said offering Mendros additional airtime could put station officials in the position of having to offer the other candidates additional time as well. There is not time or resources to perform such additions at this late date in the primary season, she said.

“We don’t have a legal responsibility at this time to air additional programming,” Morin added. “We made all the necessary arrangements and phone calls when the [taping] time was changed three weeks prior to the scheduled debate so we feel that was ample,” Morin said. “We gave the Mendros campaign enough alert that the time had changed.”

Morin said Mendros is a “very important candidate, and, again, we are very sorry that this has occurred and he was not able to be part of that very important debate.”

But Csoros said the only e-mails alerting Mendros’ staff to a change in taping time were sent to the Bangor Mendros for Congress office. The Mendros campaign has its main headquarters in Lewiston, and “it would have been very easy for them to contact Representative Mendros at the Lewiston office personally as he is very accessible to the media, and they had done that previously,” Csoros said.

Mendros was not available for comment, according to his campaign manager. Contacted May 31, Mendros called the mix-up a “scheduling conflict, a miscommunication.” The debate aired June 1 and June 2 on PBS stations, and June 3 it was broadcast on Maine Public Radio.