Miller Center partners with ABC News for national debates

The Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia has partnered with ABC News to hold a series of debates focused on key issues of the 2012 presidential campaign, officials announced Tuesday.

“The Great American Debate” will take place in front of live studio audiences at the Newseum in Washington, and will air on Sundays as special episodes of “This Week with Christiane Amanpour,” which regularly reaches more than 2 million viewers per week. A total of six debates are planned before Election Day.

The center has previously partnered with PBS on three similar debate series, but this will be the first partnership with ABC News, said Jeff Chidester, the Miller Center’s director of public programs and chairman of the debate series.

“This is a great thing for the university. It’s going to reach millions of people,” Chidester said in an interview. “We’ve ensured that a significant block of seats is reserved at each debate for University of Virginia students, so we’re doing all that we can to get them very much involved.”

The first debate, scheduled for Sunday, will feature Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and conservative columnist George Will facing off against Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., and former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, who served during the Clinton administration. The four men will debate the topic “There is Too Much Government in My Life,” touching on issues related to entitlements, taxes and regulation. Amanpour will serve as moderator throughout the series.

“The Great American Debate allows us to really delve into the substance of this election and unpack the differing visions for the country,” Amanpour said in a news release. “By talking to key thinkers, we hope to move beyond talking points and examine the ideological divide separating the two parties.”

The Miller Center will play a role in deliberations over topics and participants, but the center will also produce accompanying educational material for use in classrooms nationwide.

“Too often in this country, important issues are not discussed or debated as much as they are reduced to soundbites and slogans,” said former Virginia Gov. Gerald L. Baliles, director and CEO of the Miller Center. “Our purpose is to educate and to elevate the level of understanding and civility when the issues of 2012 are discussed. I’m especially pleased that these debates will not only help inform voters but also help teach students across the country.”

Prior to each event, the Miller Center will produce a white paper written by a leading scholar on the debate topic that will provide historical context and lay out the contours of the issue, Chidester said.

“It’s written down the middle. It’s not advocating either side,” Chidester said. “Then that paper is professionally adapted into a series of lesson plans.”

Both the white papers and the lesson plans, designed for use by middle- and high-school teachers in a manner that will adhere to educational standards in all 50 states, will be made available online at millercenter.org.

The debate series will also include an online presence, with viewers invited to post comments and questions on each topic via social media, some of which may be used on air. Twitter users can weigh in by using the hashtag #GreatDebate, while Facebook users can visit facebook.com/amanpourabc and facebook.com/millercenter.

Though the announcement from ABC News and the Miller Center said Amanpour would moderate the debates, there is some uncertainty over how long her tenure will continue as host of “This Week.”

The New York Times reported Tuesday that Amanpour may be preparing to leave the position she has held for about a year and a half. Amanpour replaced George Stephanopoulos, who left the show to become a co-anchor on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”