Now That It Considers Debra Medina "Viable," Belo Backs Down and Extends Invite to Debate

First KERA wasn't sure it would let Debra Medina participate in its Republican gubernatorial debate on the University of North Texas campus, which was held last week. Then, it extended an invite after all, and Medina did all right, all right. Then, Belo said, so sorry, but it wasn't gonna...

By Robert Wilonsky

January 18, 2010

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First KERA wasn't sure it would let Debra Medina participate in its Republican gubernatorial debate on the University of North Texas campus, which was held last week. Then, it extended an invite after all, and Medina did all right, all right. Then, Belo said, so sorry, but it wasn't gonna allow the GOP candidate to join Rick Perry and Kay Bailey Hutchison on January 29. Now, Belo's higher-ups have taken a peek at the Rasmussen poll released today and decided, sure, she's more than welcome to come down to WFAA's studios that night. Right, Mike Devlin, president and general manager at WFAA-Channel 8?

"The Rasmussen poll released today shows Debra Medina is now at 12 percent, which is a substantial jump since the previous poll. Factoring in the margin of error (+/- 3.5 percent) and using reasonable news judgment, it appears Ms. Medina is a viable candidate and qualifies for the Belo Debate to be broadcast on January 29."

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