Lessig files equal time request with NBC affiliates

Flagrant self-promotion alert!, but at least some here will find it interesting:

Larry Lessig saw Hillary Clinton on "SNL" and told NBC: I want equal time. Lessig, a longshot Democratic candidate for president, submitted the air time request last weekend and is now in consultation with NBC about it.

"We're not trying to get Larry onto 'Saturday Night Live,' of course -- we just want to protect his equal right to speak to viewers," Lessig campaign counsel Adam Bonin said in a statement to CNNMoney.

Federal Communications Commission rules stipulate that candidates can request equal time when broadcast stations have a rivals on the air.

"Since 1927, the law has said that when a network gives one candidate free airtime, outside of its news coverage, it has to allow a comparable opportunity to other candidates," Bonin said. "These are the public's airwaves, after all."

... His equal time request was sent October 10 to NBC's top 35 affiliates plus those in states with early primaries. NBC responded on October 12 and asked for proof that both Lessig and Clinton are "legally qualified" candidates. The law calls for proof before equal air time is granted.