Edgewood College to Host Madison’s DebateWatch 2004

Invites Public to Three Nights of Nonpartisan Viewing and Discussion

Madison, Wis. – Do you want to make up your own mind about the presidential debates, without all the instant analysis and spin doctors? Do you want your opinion of the debates to count for something? Then you may want to participate in Madison’s DebateWatch 2004. Sponsored by Edgewood College, DebateWatch gives people a chance to watch the debates, discuss their own views of the outcome, and have their opinions be counted, before they are influenced by media commentators or politicians.

Michael Corrigan, Edgewood College professor of communication studies, says, “We will watch the debates together, void of negative advertising, opinionated shock jocks, and the many other spin doctors around. The goal is to help a few Madisonians avoid the hypothesized ‘hypodermic needle’ effect, which believes the media influence how we think and view things. Participants will also have an opportunity to record their opinions, anonymously, of course. We will analyze the results to provide a more accurate snapshot of the true outcome of the debates.”

Edgewood College will host DebateWatch on each of the three evenings of the presidential debates: September 30, October 8, and October 13. The events are free and open to the public. Activities will begin in the Anderson Auditorium, Predolin Humanities Center, one hour before the scheduled debates. Attendees are asked to arrive no later than 30 minutes before airtime. Pre-debate activities will include informative, entertaining keynote speakers and appetizers donated by local restaurants. Post-debate discussion groups will provide an opportunity to more accurately measure how the citizens of Madison view the outcomes of the debate and the success of the candidates.

DebateWatch is a national voter education program of the nonprofit Commission on Presidential Debates, which has sponsored the presidential debates since 1988. For more information about the debates and Madison’s DebateWatch 2004 events, visit www.debates.org and http://commarts.edgewood.edu/communication_studies.htm. For more details or to volunteer to help, contact Professor Michael Corrigan at mwcorrigan@edgewood.edu or 608-663-3434.

About Edgewood College

Edgewood College, located on the shores of Lake Wingra in Madison, Wis., is a Catholic, independent liberal arts college with approximately 2,400 undergraduate and graduate students, pursuing more than 40 academic and professional programs. Edgewood offers masters degrees in business, education, nursing, and other fields, and a doctoral program in education leadership. For more information about Edgewood College, visit www.edgewood.edu or call 800-444-4861.

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