NEW YORK -- As public debate continues on campaign finance reform, the Open Society Institute, part of the Soros Foundations Network, today debuted the premier issue of a publication series set to explore innovative ideas and strategies for social change.

Tackling campaign finance reform in the inaugural issue of “Ideas for an Open Society,” Mark Schmitt, director of the Governance and Public Policy program at OSI and former policy director for Senator Bill Bradley, examines the impact of the current campaign finance system on fair elections, political speech, and the First Amendment and offers recommendations for reform in his piece, “Beyond McCain-Feingold: A New Approach to Money in Politics.”

“While not abandoning the quest to make elections fairer and money less decisive, reformers will have to recognize that the campaign finance system is embedded deeply in a rich and complex world of political speech, all or most of which is dependent on money in some way, and also strongly protected by the spirit and letter of the First Amendment,” Schmitt says in his article.

Also included in the issue is, “Democratizing the Airwaves,” a piece by former Washington Post reporter Paul Taylor, current executive director of the Alliance for Better Campaigns and an OSI grantee. Taylor argues that television broadcasters should provide time for candidate-centered discussion in order to decrease the pressure for financial contributions needed to pay exorbitant campaign television bills.

The new Ideas series, to be released six times a year, will provide a forum for promoting provocative ideas and strategies to advance open society values. Written by OSI program directors, trustees, and grantees, upcoming issues will focus on reproductive heath and choice, overreliance on incarceration, reform of urban high schools, and other OSI projects.

“Ideas for an Open Society” is available on the Web at www.soros.org or in hard copy by contacting info.USprograms@sorosny.org.

Note to reporters: interviews with Mark Schmitt, Paul Taylor, and other policy experts are available by contacting Amy Weil at aweil@sorosny.org or 212-548-0381.

The Open Society Institute is a private operating and grantmaking foundation that promotes the development of open society around the world. OSI's U.S. Programs seek to strengthen democracy in the United States by addressing barriers to opportunity and justice, broadening public discussion about such barriers, and assisting marginalized groups to participate equally in civil society and to make their voices heard.

U.S. Programs challenge over-reliance on the market by advocating appropriate government responsibility for human needs and promoting public interest and service values in law, medicine, and the media. OSI's U.S. Programs support initiatives in a range of areas, including access to justice for low and moderate income people; independence of the judiciary; ending the death penalty; reducing gun violence and over-reliance on incarceration; drug policy reform; inner-city education and youth programs; fair treatment of immigrants; reproductive health and choice; campaign finance reform; and improved care of the dying. OSI is part of the network of foundations, created and funded by George Soros, active in 60 countries around the world.