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Protest Sinclair's Airwave Abuse
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Progressive Portal
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Dec 18, 2004 16:01 PST
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SHOWING ATTACK FILM ON STATIONS THAT REACH A QUARTER OF U.S.
AMOUNTS TO ILLEGAL IN-KIND CONTRIBUTION TO BUSH CAMPAIGN
[From Progressive Portal <http://www.progressiveportal.org>]
The Sinclair Broadcasting Group, a media conglomerate that owns or
operates 62 television stations reaching an estimated 24 percent of
households with televisions in the United States, has ordered its
stations to preempt regular prime-time programming to air a
Kerry-bashing "documentary" film in the final weeks before the
presidential election.
The film, called "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal," features
Vietnam-era prisoners of war accusing Sen. John Kerry of prolonging the
war and worsening their ordeal by his anti-war activism in the early
1970s. The company has told its stations - which include many in swing
states such as Ohio and Florida - to run a one-hour program built around
the film between 21 and 24 Oct 2004, depending on the city. The film
will be followed by a panel discussion, which Kerry has been invited to
join, according to Sinclair's Web site.
Sinclair has a long history of forcing its affiliates to slant their
programming to the right. In April it barred its ABC stations from
showing a special edition of "Nightline" in which Ted Koppel read the
names and showed the faces of the 721 U.S. soldiers who had died in Iraq
to that point, claiming the program amounted to promoting a political
viewpoint.
Federal law prohibits corporations from spending money to influence a
federal election, but there's an exemption for news stories and
commentary. A Sinclair spokesman appearing on CNN insisted that the film
is news and that other media outlets that don't see it as such as are
"acting like Holocaust deniers." The Democratic National Committee,
however, has filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission,
and 18 Democratic Senators have asked the Federal Communications
Commission to investigate whether Sinclair's plan is an improper use of
public airwaves.
Media activists, Web loggers, and Kerry supporters have launched a
variety of protests against Sinclair's plan to force its affiliates to
show the film, including a petition, complaints to the FCC, and protests
to the company and its advertisers.
Take Action
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1. If you live in an area with a Sinclair-operated station, pressure the
station and its advertisers.
Contact information:
http://www.sbgi.net/business/television.shtml
Advice from an industry insider:
http://tinyurl.com/4844e
Database of Sinclair advertisers:
http://www.boycottsbg.com/advertisers
Call for local-station picketing at 6 p.m. on Mon, 18 Oct 2004:
http://boycottsinclair.blogspot.com
2. Send e-mail to Sinclair Broadcasting's headquarters and to its CEO
at:
comments-AT-sbgi.net (replace "-AT-" with @)
dsmith-AT-sbgi.net
3. Contact the Federal Communications Commission and its five
commissioners by phone at 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322), by fax to
1-866-418-0232, or by e-mail to:
fccinfo-AT-fcc.gov
Chairman Michael K. Powell: Michael.Powell-AT-fcc.gov
Commissioner Kathleen Q. Abernathy: Kathleen.Abernathy-AT-fcc.gov
Commissioner Michael J. Copps: Michael.Copps-AT-fcc.gov
Commissioner Kevin J. Martin: KJ-@fcc.gov
Commissioner Jonathan S. Adelstein: Jonat-@fcc.gov
4. Sign the petition at:
http://www.stopsinclair.org/index.php
More Information
-----------------------------------
Los Angeles Times article that broke the story:
http://tinyurl.com/3nwpf
Follow-up from The Nation Web site:
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/outrage?pid=1895
Sample letter to Sinclair:
http://mediamatters.org/items/200410100001
Boycott information:
http://www.boycottsinclairbroadcasting.com/pages/1/index.htm
Background on Sinclair's history of politicized broadcasting:
http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=63020#1
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