In 2004 and 2008, RIC’s American Democracy Project held the largest DebateWatch in the country. For this program ADP joined forces with the Community College of Rhode Island’s Democracy Commitment to bring an even bigger and better event. Bill Rappleye of NBC10 and Mark Curtis of ABC6 also participated in this program.
A town-hall meeting with statewide office holders and other dignitaries was followed by a viewing of the first presidential debate on theatre-sized screens. After viewing, trained facilitators led discussions on the debate, and the results from these discussions was sent to the National Commission on Presidential Debates and to local media. Results from DebateWatches have influenced how debates are organized, their format, the types of questions asked, selection of moderators, and even the length of the debates.