Skip to main content

October 1969 - 'The Advocates' Premieres

Support Provided By
The Advocates Magazine Feature, 1970
A feature about the Advocates in the November 1970 issue of Gambit, KCET's channel guide.

In October 1969, "The Advocates," a public policy program presented in a debate format co-produced by KCET and Boston's WGBH, made its nationwide debut on the NET network.

The weekly, hour-long live program will featured two "advocates," which are trained lawyers arguing both sides of a specific public policy question before a "decision maker" and a studio audience. The studio audience, and home audiences, via telephone, had the ability to vote on the issue being debated - an example of interactive media before its time.

The program was hosted by advocates Howard Miller, a USC law professor; William Rusher, publisher of The National Review; and moderator Victor Palmieri. Advocates on both sides were able to call up a panel of "witnesses" to further their position. Witnesses were guests from government, academia, media, and popular culture.

Guest witnesses included Michael Dukakis, Barney Frank, Jesse Owens, Adlai Stevenson, Hubert Humphrey, and Joe Biden.

The first show featured California State Assembly Speaker Jesse Unruh as decision-maker concerned debating a bill in the California legislature intended to ban the sale of internal combustion machines in the state after 1975.

Created by Harvard law professor Roger Fisher, the program evolved from "It's Up To You," a short-lived1968 Boston public TV series that featured interested citizens debating specific public policy issues.

"The Advocates" won a Peabody Award in 1970.

The program, which ran for six years, was taped at KCET's studios in Hollywood and at Faneuil Hall in Boston, and was funded by grants from the Ford Foundation and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Support Provided By
Read More
Members of Jacques Cousteau's team readies the famed explorer for a dive

The 1970s: Cousteau's Odyssey Continues

To a very small degree, I have done my best to follow in the footsteps of Jacques Cousteau.
The view from atop Mount Wilson. Catalina Island can be seen top left, and the downtown Los Angeles skyline is visible far right. The entire city of Pasadena is visible in the lower half of the picture. | Photo: Elson Trinidad

Transmitting Live from Mount Wilson: How KCET's Signal Comes to You

Keeping KCET running on the air, which requires a lot of electricity, a lot of equipment, and a lot of backup systems.
Zarii Arri

Zarii Arri: Teach Our Children to be Nice

Zarii Arri moved to California for acting and ice skating.