WSIU-TV TO SHOW SUNDAY SENATE DEBATE ON MONDAY

Southeast Missouri residents will be able to view Sunday night's debate between U.S. Senate candidates John Ashcroft and Mel Carnahan on Monday.

WSIU-TV, the Carbondale, Ill.,-based public television station, will air a tape-delayed broadcast of the debate from 7 to 8 p.m. Monday.

Democratic Gov. Mel Carnahan and Republican U.S. Sen. John Ashcroft will square off in a debate Sunday night that will be televised live on public television stations in Kansas City, Mo., and Springfield, Mo. The debate will take place in Kansas City.

Southeast Missouri residents won't get a chance to see the debate live. Both WSIU and the national C-SPAN cable channel have other programming scheduled Sunday night.

Both decided this week to air the debate at a later date. C-SPAN has yet to decide when the debate will air, but it could be as early as Monday, said Sara Sicks, associate producer for the cable channel in Washington, D.C.

Earlier this week, WSIU officials said they had no plans to air the debate. But on Friday station officials announced the debate would be shown.

"We have changed our regularly scheduled programs so that we can air the debate in its entirety," said WSIU promotions coordinator Monica Tichenor.

The debate is the only televised debate scheduled between Ashcroft and Carnahan.

Tichenor said WSIU decided to broadcast the debate because of the importance of the Senate race and concern that Southeast Missouri residents might otherwise not have an opportunity to see the two candidates debate.

"We wish we could carry it live," she said.

"We know we have viewers in the area and we have supporters of public broadcasting in the region," she said.