Public forum debate

Public forum debate, also known as crossfire debate, Po-Fo, PF, or puf (or sometimes called by its former names, controversy debates or Ted Turner debate) is a style of debate practiced in National Forensic League and National Catholic Forensic League competitions.

Overview

Public forum debate can be compared to a nationally-televised debate, such as "Crossfire" in which the debaters argue a topic of national importance in terms that a "common" person would understand. Similar to policy debate, the debate in public forum debate is conducted by teams of two people alternating speeches for their side. Unlike policy debate, it is far more dependent on the speaking presentation of the debater rather than the depth of argumentation and the research skills of the speaker. It is a less formal form of NEDA Debate.

Mechanics

Each team will ideally argue both sides equally (usually twice, however larger national tournaments include 6 rounds, plus additional "break" rounds) or, as suggested by the NFL website, will start with a coin flip. Whichever team wins the flip is able to choose speaking order or which side to advocate, and the team that loses the flip is able to choose from the option that is left. (i.e, if the winners of the coin flip choose to advocate "Pro," then the losing team can decide speaking order.) In other cases, entire states adopt rules toward this in formal debate. In Minnesota for instance, all formal debates begin with the pro. Unlike in policy debate and Lincoln-Douglas debate, in public forum debate, the proposition or affirmative side does not necessarily speak first. The NFL website states that, while states may choose whether or not to include the coin toss, the NFL encourages it; and all NFL tournaments will be conducted with a coin toss in public forum, to allow for uncertainty and strategy.

The debate begins with the first team's first four-minute constructive speech. In this speech, one of the members of the team gives arguments either for or against the resolution, depending on which side the team is speaking for. Strictly speaking, the custom in public forum debate dictates that when debaters speak (both for speeches and crossfire), they should face forward towards the judge, sometimes from behind a lectern. However in some states/tournaments, it is customary for debaters to remain seated and face each other during crossfire. Next, the other side is permitted to give its first four-minute constructive speech in which not only arguments may be presented, but rebuttals to arguments from the first speech as well. However, rebuttals are typically not presented until a team's second constructive, and are frowned upon in some states/tournaments, and the first constructive generally consists exclusively of prepared material.

Following this speech, the first speaker from the first team joins the first speaker from the second team at the podium if one is provided (in the absence of one debaters stand by their desks) and the first three-minute "crossfire" begins. The first speaker begins crossfire by asking a question to the second speaker. In crossfire, the two debaters directly ask each other questions and answer questions of their opponent. Crossfire may be used, like cross-examination, to ask revealing questions in an attempt to expose a weakness in the opponents' arguments, but it is often used as a way to further develop and attack arguments through discourse.

After crossfire, first team's second speaker gives a four-minute rebuttal speech. After they have rebutted their opponents case, they move on to "rehab" their own (rebut the opponents rebutals in an attempt to nullify them. Although, this only applies to the second speaker as the first team should not have had any points rebutted yet.) Then, the second speaker of the second team gives a four-minute constructive speech following this same format. Following this speech, another three-minute crossfire ensues.

The first speaker of the first team then gives a two-minute summary speech of the debate, which includes further rebuttal of the opponents case and reiteration of the first team's case, and the first speaker of the second team does the same. After this speech, all four debaters participate in "Grand Crossfire". Grand Crossfire is similar to crossfire except that all four debaters can ask and answer questions of each other. The speaker that gave the first summary speech begins Grand Crossfire by asking the first question.

After Grand Crossfire, each team's second speaker has a chance to give a one-minute speech called the "Final Focus," the first team giving this speech first. This speech is also referred to as "The Last Shot" (depending on what state you are in), a holdover from the event's earlier days. In the Final Focus , the speaker is given one last chance to explain exactly why his or her team has won the round. No new arguments or evidence is allowed in the Final Focus. This speech is often the determining factor for a judge's decision in a closely contested round, as it allows the judge to hear which arguments/evidence each team views as the most important to his or her case, and summarizes the entire debate.

In NFL sponsored tournaments the winner of a debate round earns 6 NFL points, and the loser of the round earns 3 NFL points. These are the same points given for policy debate and Lincoln-Douglas debate.

A Public Forum debate follows this timing schedule:Each team also has a total of two minutes of preparation time ("downtime" or "prep time"), which they can use before any of their speeches. This time is spent at the debaters' discretion (plotting arguments, finding weaknesses in the opponents' case, tic-tac-toe, etc.). Each team is allowed to use its allotted prep time in whatever increments it chooses. The debaters ask the judge to use prep time as needed, and then tell the judge when they are ready to begin their next speech. The judge then stops the clock and records the time remaining of the original two minutes, which that team can use later.

Resolutions

Resolutions (topics to be debated) change every month. Past and present resolutions include:
*November 2008: "Resolved: That the United States government should implement universal health care modeled after the French system."
*October 2008: "Resolved: That the United States should significantly increase its use of nuclear energy."
*September 2008: "Resolved: That the United States should implement a military draft."
*NFL Nationals: "Resolved: US policies established after September 11, 2001 have substantially reduced the risk of terrorist acts against the United States."
*NCFL Grand Nationals: "Resolved: That the US Government should increase social services for indigenous peoples in America."
*April 2008: "Resolved: That the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 will successfully mitigate economic slowdowns over the next year."
*March 2008: "Resolved: The US system of presidential primaries is contrary to democratic values."
*February 2008: "Resolved: That Russia has become a threat to U.S. interests."
*January 2008: "Resolved: In a democracy, civil disobedience is an appropriate weapon in the fight for justice."
*December 2007: "Resolved: That the United States would be justified in pursuing military options against Iran."
*November 2007: "Resolved: That eliminating United States government budget deficits should be prioritized over increasing domestic spending."
*October 2007: "Resolved: That the United States should encourage the implementation of a soft partition of Iraq."
*September 2007: "Resolved: That the Fairness Doctrine should be reinstated."
*NFL Nationals: "Resolved: That the private ownership of handguns should be banned in the United States."
*NCFL Grand Nationals: "Resolved: The President and Vice President of the United States should be elected by a direct vote of the American citizens."
*April 2007: "Resolved: United States corporations should honor all prior commitments to employee pensions."

See http://www.nflonline.org/Main/CurrentTopics for current topics.

History

First created in 2002 by Donus D. Roberts, Watertown legend, as "Controversy," the event was soon renamed to "Ted Turner debate" in early 2003 after Ted Turner, founder of CNN. In November, 2003, Ted Turner debate was renamed to public forum debate by the National Forensic League. Public Forum Debate is controversial because of its perceived challenge to high school policy debate, a more esoteric, but also much more rigorous, format. Most of this criticism seems to be in response to the quick rise in popularity of the format in schools across the country. Since the format emphasizes speaking style over evidence and heavy research, several small schools on limited budgets have been able to establish new debate programs. The format has also been criticized for the short time of the speeches which make constructing complicated and sophisticated arguments more difficult.

External links

* [http://www.nflonline.org/uploads/AboutNFL/cr103pf_instr.pdf NFL event description] (PDF)
* [http://pfdebate.com PFDebate.com]