Arkansas Governor’s Debate: Candidates Respond to Media Access Question
MUNOZ, AND IT GOES FIRST TO MR. JONES. YES. AND LET’S TALK ABOUT MEDIA AND PRESS ACCESS. MANY MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA ARE HERE TODAY. HOW MUCH ACCESS WILL THE ARKANSAS MEDIA HAVE TO YOU, AS GOVERNOR? AND WILL THIS CHANGE ACCORDING TO HOW THEY COVER YOUR TIME IN THE OFFICE? AND MR. JONES, WE START WITH YOU. AGAIN, I RETURN TO IT IS IMPORTANT TO CHECK THE FILE. IT IS IMPORTANT TO INSPECT FRUITS EARLY. WE SHOWED EVERYWHERE AND TALKED TO ALL ARKANSANS AND ANSWERED TOUGH QUESTIONS. FROM THE BEGINNING, WE HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH THE MEDIA. WITH THE MEDIA, AND WE ARE ALWAYS OPEN. I WILL ALWAYS BE OPEN TO HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH THE MEDIA, BECAUSE HERE’S THE DEAL. THE MEDIA PLAYS A CRITICAL AND IMPORTANT ROLE IN OUR SOCIETY. THEY ALLOW US TO ANSWER DIFFICULT QUESTIONS. THEY ALLOW US TO SEE BEHIND THE VEIL AND KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING. BECAUSE I CAN SAY THINGS ABOUT THIS SCENE, BUT THE REAL QUESTION IS WHAT’S IN THE DETAILS? WHAT IS BEHIND WHAT I SAY? AND WHO WILL IT BENEFIT? AND THIS IS THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA. LOOK WE WENT TO SOUTHERN ARKANSAS AND I HEARD STORIES OF PEOPLE WHO ARE FRUSTRATED BECAUSE THEY CAN’T HEAR MY OPPONENTS AND SANDERS. AND THEY WANT TO KNOW HOW SHE WILL IMPLEMENT THE THINGS YOU TALK ABOUT. AND THEY WANT TO ASK THE HARD QUESTIONS. SO AS GOVERNOR, I WILL CERTAINLY CONTINUE TO DO WHAT I HAVE DONE FROM THE BEGINNING, THAT IS TO BE TRANSPARENT, ACCOUNTABLE AND OPEN. MR. HARRINGTON, I’M SORRY. CAN YOU REPEAT THE QUESTION PLEASE? AS REGARDS LOCAL MEDIA, HOW MUCH ACCESS DO THEY HAVE TO YOU LIKE. WELL, I DEFINITELY JOINED ON ONE OF THE FIRST DEBATES WE HAD IN APRIL WHICH LIVESTREAMED MY DAYS AS GOVERNOR OF ARKANSAS. YOU KNOW WE HAVE TO BE OPEN WITH EACH OTHER IF WE WANT TO HAVE A FREE AND SECURE SOCIETY. WE MUST BE OPEN. WE MUST BE GENUINE. ANOTHER ONE. WE MUST TELL IT AS IT IS. BUT ALSO BE KIND TO EACH OTHER WHEN WE TELL IT AS IT IS. AND ME AGAIN, IN RETURNING TO THIS ISSUE OF INTEGRITY, WE MUST CONTINUE TO DEMONSTRATE PEOPLE THAT THEY CAN FOLLOW FOR A LIBERTARIAN, SAY THIS TRUST THE GOVERNMENT. BUT HAVE SOME KIND OF GOOD FAITH THAT THOSE WHO ARE IN CHARGE, THOSE WHO SERVE THE PEOPLE OF THIS STATE OF ARKANSAS ARE DOING THE RIGHT THING. MRS. SANDERS FREEDOM OF THE PRESS IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT. BUT WITH FREEDOM OF THE PRESS ALSO COMES GREAT RESPONSIVENESS. AND WHEN THEY DON’T MEET THEIR END OF THE DEAL, IT FORCES SOME OF US TO GET OUT OF THE BOX, WHICH I HAVE DONE EVERY DAY FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS. I HAVE TRAVELED THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF ARKANSAS. IN FACT, I WOULD LIKE TO COME I HAVE ACTUALLY MET MORE ARKANSANS DIRECTLY, FACE TO FACE THAN ANY OTHER CANDIDATES FOR THIS POSITION, BOTH PRIMARY AND GENERAL COMBINED. I HAVE BEEN TO ALL 75 COUNTIES TO TAKE MY MESSAGE DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE OF ARKANSAS BECAUSE I KNOW MORE THAN ANYONE WHO SOMETIMES HAS TO GO DIRECT TO THE PEOPLE AND CUT THE MIDDLE AND THE PREJUDICE IN WHICH THEY WILL PRESENT YOUR MESSAGE. AND IT CLEARLY WORKS. AND RESONANT. PEOPLE ARE HUNGRY FOR A LEADER WHO WILL BUILD ARKANSAS, WHO WILL FOCUS ON THINGS LIKE EDUCATION, LIKE PUBLIC SAFETY, LIKE OUR INCOME TAX AND DO THINGS THAT BENEFIT EVERY ARKANSAN. AND THIS IS EXACTLY THE MESSAGE I’VE BEEN SPEAKING FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS. GOT IT. AND I WILL CONTINUE. TALK ABOUT IT AS THE TIME IS STRONG. YES SIR. GOT CALL TIME. Mr. HERRING. Mr. JONES. I mean, it sounded like a crowd size to me. Look, the Second Amendment is something we talk about a lot, and we talk about it as our support for the Second Amendment. AND I CERTAINLY SUPPORT THE SECOND AMENDMENT. THERE IS ONE THAT COMES BEFORE, WHICH IS THE FIRST AMENDMENT. AND I ALSO STRONGLY SUPPORT THE FIRST AMENDMENT, BECAUSE I CONSIDER OPENNESS IS ESSENTIAL TO THE WORKING OF OUR DEMOCRACY. AND THE MORE WE HAVE LEADERS WHO ARE UNWILLING TO SHOW UP AND ANSWER TOUGH QUESTIONS IN FRONT OF CROWDS THAT DISAGREE WITH THEM AND WITH MEDIA THAT DISAGREES WITH THEM, THE FURTHER WE WILL DROW STRENGTH OF OUR DEMOCRACY. MR. HARRINGTON. ONCE AGAIN, I WOULD LIKE TO THANK ARKANSAS PBS FOR HOSTING THIS DEBATE AND ALLOWING ME TO BE ON THE STAGE AS IT IS VERY IMPOSSIBLE FOR THIRD PARTIES TO EVEN PUT THEMSELVES IN THIS TYPE OF SITUATION. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR THIS. BACK ON SOME THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT. THE FIRST AMENDMENT, OUR PRESS IS SUPPOSED TO KEEP OUR GOVERNMENT IN CONTROL AND ENSURE THAT WHAT IT SAYS IS THE TRUTH. THE PRESS IS FUNDAMENTAL TO OUR CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC AND I HOPE THE CORPORATE PRESS WILL GET AWAY FROM DOING WHAT IT DOES IN FOCUSING ON THE HATE THAT IS SO PREVALENT IN AMERICA TODAY. SIR THOMAS ENDERS TIME, 30 SECONDS. I HAVE ENGAGED WITH THE PRESS AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO. BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, I WILL NEVER STOP ENGAGING DIRECTLY WITH THE PEOPLE OF ARKANSAS. I TRAVELED ALL OVER THE STATE, ASKING QUESTION AFTER QUESTIONING, LOOKING PEOPLE IN THE EYES AND SPEAKING MY PLAN, VISION AND MESSAGE FOR THE STATE. I DO NOT APOLOGIZE FOR THIS. I THINK THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT THIS PROCESS IS SUPPOSED TO BE, IS TO LET PEOPLE GET TO KNOW YOU AND INVEST IN WHO YOU ARE BEFORE YOU VOTE. YOU. I WILL CONTINUE DOING THIS AND FINISH STRONG DURING THE
Arkansas Governor’s Debate: Candidates Respond to Media Access Question
Updated: 11:52 a.m. CDT October 21, 2022
Arkansas gubernatorial candidates were asked about their availability and openness to local reporters as governor during a debate in Conway on Friday. Watch their full responses in the video player above. Chris Jones, a Democrat, said the news media plays a crucial and important role in society and allows people to see what is really going on with their government. He said he was approachable to the media and people were frustrated that Sanders doesn’t often speak with local reporters. Ricky Dale Harrington, a libertarian, said he wanted to be candid and joked that he would livestream his days as governor. He said it was the job of the press to control the government. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a Republican who previously served as White House press secretary, said she preferred to cut out the middleman and talk to voters on her own terms. She said she spoke to more Arkansans face-to-face than the other two contestants combined. Candidates also answered questions about taxes, inflation, experience and credibility. Follow this link to see more clips from the debate.
Arkansas gubernatorial candidates were asked about their availability and openness to local reporters as governor during a debate in Conway on Friday. Watch their full responses in the video player above.
Chris Jones, a Democrat, said the news media plays a crucial and important role in society and allows people to see what is really going on with their government. He said he was approachable to the media and people were frustrated that Sanders doesn’t often speak with local reporters.
Ricky Dale Harrington, a libertarian, said he wanted to be candid and joked that he would livestream his days as governor. He said it is the job of the press to keep the government under control.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a Republican who previously served as White House press secretary, said she preferred to cut out the middleman and talk to voters on her own terms. She said she spoke to more Arkansans face-to-face than the other two contestants combined.
Candidates also answered questions about taxes, inflation, experience and credibility. Follow this link to see more clips from the debate.
