In this file photo from June 3, 2013, National Association of Broadcasters President Gordon Smith speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington. (AP File Photo/Susan Walsh)

The leader of the National Association of Broadcasters urged members of a Lawrence crowd Thursday evening to make good use of their remote controls during this election season.

“Don’t just watch what you agree with,” Gordon Smith, president and CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters told a crowd of about 100 people at the Dole Institute of Politics. “Trouble your mind enough to listen to the other side.”

Smith, who is a former two-term Republican U.S. senator from Oregon, said the habit of Americans watching only media outlets that reinforce their views has become a “civic problem.” During this election, which he labeled “the worst election of my life,” it can be particularly problematic.

“I think if we are going to hold the union together, it is important that we not see the other side as enemies,” said Smith, who said he does plan to vote for “none of the above” in the presidential election.

Smith spoke as part of the Dole Institute’s Journalism & Politics Lecture.