Hon. RICHARD M. NIXON,
Sheraton Blackstone, Chicago:
Hon. JOHN F. KENNEDY,
Hyannis Port, Mass.:

     Now that the conventions of the two major parties have chosen their presidential candidates, it is a pleasure to invite you and Senator Kennedy (Vice President Nixon) to join in "The Great Debate," a special series of 8 full hours of prime evening time on the NBC television and radio networks.
     NBC has already made known its desire to present the major candidates in such a series based on the expectation that enabling legislation, already adopted by the Senate, will be passed by the House during the August session.
     This series will be dedicated to a dignified, genuinely informative airing of the candidates' positions on the issues confronting our country. In this respect it will conform fully to the hopes you expressed in the support you have already given to the idea of engaging in television debate.
     As now envisaged "The Great Debate" would devote four hour-long programs to joint discussion of the issues according to ground rules to be drawn up in consultation with the candidates. The other 4 hours would be designed to elicit the views of the candidates in response to well-informed, impartial questioning by a panel of outstanding American journalists. We believe that a series along these lines would most effectively fulfill the goal of informing the public on the issues and the positions of the candidates, but we would be pleased to consider any other ideas you and Senator Kennedy (Vice President Nixon) may wish to offer for attaining this objective.
     Representatives of NBC will be in touch with your press secretary soon to begin discussion of arrangements for this unprecedented broadcasting venture. If I can be of any personal service in connection with this project, I hope you will not hesitate to call upon me.

     I wholeheartedly accept your invitation to meet on television with Vice President Nixon during the coming campaign. I believe you are performing a notable public service in giving the American people a chance to see the candidates of the two major parties discuss the issues face to face. I have asked Mr. Leonard Reinsch, who is in charge of radio and television, to contact your staff to work out suitable arrangements.

ROBERT W. SARNOFF,
Chairman o f the Board,
National Broadcasting Co.,
New York, N.Y.:

     I accept your offer to make prime evening time of the NBC television and radio networks available to the major party presidential candidates for discussion of the issues of the campaign.
     In response to your suggestion, my representative will be prepared to discuss, at your convenience and Senator Kennedy's the manner in which the objectives of informing the American people can best be achieved.
     As you are aware, similar proposals have been made by the CBS and ABC networks and I would suggest that their representatives might also be present so that all proposals may be coordinated.
     In general it is my position that joint television appearances of the presidential candidates should be conducted as full and free exchange of views without prepared texts or notes and without interruption.
     I think that it is also desirable that some of the time offered by you and the other networks be used for individual appearances of the candidates both for uninterrupted expression of their views and for questioning by panels of accredited journalists.