LWV vs. CPD: the ultimate smackdown

A somewhat historical look at the debates since the League of Women Voters lost control offered up by Campus Progress (in the form of an opinion piece).

"In 1988, the CPD took over from the LWV, which assigned debate formats, moderators, and audience questions in full transparency. That hasn’t been the policy of the CPD, since they simply execute a contract drafted in secret by party leaders. In other words, the control over the debates lies heavily in the hands of party leaders, even allowing them to select the debate moderators."
-This article goes on to talk about how the new committee restricts debates also in the sense that they do not allow third party candidates or much room for follow-up questions (not that Lehrer asked many follow-ups or clarified/exposed any large false statements made by either senator). What I take away from this, though, is that not many voters realize that before the CPD changed the rules, the debates were much more open and informational to the public.
"Thanks to pressure from groups like Open Debates, this year the moderators were selected by the CPD and announced without party input. But the CPD still made poor choices. The presidential debates will be moderated by PBS’s Jim Lehrer, NBC’s Tom Brokaw, and CBS’s Bob Schieffer—three rather dull old white dudes from establishment media."
-This is a very good point, not the dull old white dudes problem but the issue of bringing mainstream media outlets' faces to question candidates where clearly they are not used to it. When have these men severely questioned or stood up to McCain or Obama?