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Sinclair Group plans to foist anti-Kerry documentary on public

  
  

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Hieronymus
21:59 / 11.10.04
According to the Washington Post, Hunt Valley, Md.-based Sinclair has ordered its 62 stations -- some in states contested in the election such as Florida, Iowa, Ohio and Wisconsin -- to show "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal" during prime-time hours before the Nov. 2 election. The stations owned by Sinclair reach 24 percent of U.S. television households.

The Democratic National Committee said Monday said it will file a complaint against Sinclair with the Federal Election Commission, accusing the network of making an "illegal in-kind contribution" to President Bush's campaign, according to a DNC news release.

This kind of heavy-handed abuse by a broadcaster bothers me deeply as the various political documentaries have, until now, been something one could partake in by one's own volition. Not in place of regular programming to assert a broadcasting company's political agenda.

The DailyKos has a list of advertisers which can be contacted in reaction to Sinclair's decision and there is also an online petition being whipped up at StopSinclair.org
 
 
FinderWolf
12:52 / 12.10.04
Thanks for posting this - I signed the petition and wrote the following as my comment:

>> Would you be upset and have the same complaint if NBC, CBS and ABC all decided to pre-empt their network programming and show Farenheit 9/11 two days before the election? Of course you would.
 
 
FinderWolf
17:05 / 12.10.04
Email your friends and tell them to vote at www.StopSinclair.org

Contact the Sinclair station near you and tell them to
STOP. Find the station in your area:
http://www.sbgi.net/business/television.shtml

Contact your senators and representative in Washington
and tell them to address this issue on the floor of
Congress. Find your senators here:
http://www.senate.gov. Find your representative here:
http://www.house.gov.

Contact Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who criticized
Sinclair when they refused to air Nightline. Ask him
to stand up to Sinclair again:
http://mccain.senate.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=Contact.Home

Contact Michael Powell, FCC Chairman, and tell him to
STOP Sinclair: Michael.Powell@fcc.gov
 
 
FinderWolf
19:09 / 12.10.04
I got a response e-mail back from the Sinclair group saying it's actually a "news event" and they've invited Sen. Kerry to participate. They also say the content has been 'prematurely mischaracterized' and try to make it seem like it's a retrospective on Kerry's life presenting pro and con sides. Lame-asses.

Dem's in Congress are trying to get this barred and/or investigated at the FCC level.
 
 
FinderWolf
19:19 / 12.10.04
from CNN.com's article on this:

>> Mark Hyman, vice president for corporate relations at Sinclair, told CNN that broadcasting the film is not a violation of campaign finance law.

"Our goal here is to get John Kerry to sit down and talk with these guys. Get a chance to tell them why he branded them as war criminals, why he accused them of committing war-time atrocities," Hyman said.

"Is it (illegal) because there are some elements of this that may reflect poorly on John Kerry?" Hyman asked.

"If you use that logic and reasoning, that means every car bomb in Iraq would be an in-kind contribution to John Kerry. Weak job-performance ratings that came out last month would have been an in-kind contribution to John Kerry."

What an asshole -- why don't we have an hour of attacking Bush on mainstream networks and then whine "Well, he's welcome to come in personally to refute it all"?
 
 
FinderWolf
19:20 / 12.10.04
Sorry I keep posting like crazy, but this story has me pissed!

The text of the letter to the FCC from key Democrats:

---

CNN has confirmed that the following 17 senators signed the letter: Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Jack Reed (D-RI), Bill Nelson (D-NE), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Carl Levin (D-MI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Bob Graham (D-FL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tim Johnson (D-SD), Harry Reid (D-NV), Daniel Inouye (D-HI) and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Ernest Hollings (D-SC) and Patty Murray (D-WA).

Text of letter:

October 9, 2004

The Honorable Michael Powell,
Chairman

Federal Communications Commission

445 12th Street, S.W.

Room 8-A204A

Washington, DC 20554

Dear Chairman Powell:

We write to express our concern over a recent LA Times article (attached) regarding the planned preemption of regular station programming by the Sinclair Broadcast Group in favor of an anti-Kerry attack ad expected to last approximately 90 minutes, and to ask that you look into this matter to determine whether it represents a proper use of public airwaves or if, instead, it would violate fairness rules now in place.

The attached article alleges that Sinclair Broadcasting has ordered its stations, including affiliates of Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC, WB and UPN, to preempt their regular programming and replace it with material prepared for political use, shortly prior to the November 2 election. To allow a broadcasting company to air such a blatantly partisan attack in lieu of regular programming, and to classify that attack as "news programming" as has been suggested, would violate the spirit, and we think the text, of current law and regulation.

Additionally, while there is some indication that Senator Kerry may be invited to a panel discussion following the airing of this "program" in order to satisfy fairness regulations, it seems clear to us that any such invitation would be merely a transparent attempt to circumvent the fine print of the law and proceed with this partisan plan. Equal time rules exist for a purpose - to prevent the airing of one-sided political content without equal response time given to the opposing view or candidate. In this case, it is impossible to imagine how the equal time rules would be satisfied if this plan is allowed to go forward.

We urge you to investigate this matter immediately, and would appreciate a response as to whether you will, in fact, investigate these allegations."

------------------
 
 
ibis the being
19:50 / 12.10.04
I'm sure that Colin Powell's son will be totally fair and unbiased in his decision.
 
 
FinderWolf
20:04 / 12.10.04
They also said in their form response:

>> You may call this station's parent company headquarters at (410) 568-1780 if you would like to make further comments on this matter.

I just called the number and it's BUSY. Not often you get a busy signal from a major business these days...my bet is they're being inundated with calls.
 
 
FinderWolf
20:50 / 12.10.04
Yahoo is now covering the story:

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/washpost/20041012/tc_washpost/a25406_2004oct11
 
 
grant
03:08 / 13.10.04
Talking Points Memo are being quite the busy little organizer with this thing -- compiling lists of local advertisers (for *your* local market), guiding strategy, providing links galore.

Keep checking with them.
 
 
Pingle!Pop
08:14 / 13.10.04
I just called the number and it's BUSY. Not often you get a busy signal from a major business these days...my bet is they're being inundated with calls.

... To their automated response machine, which I'm sure is carefully considering all the complaints. A quick Google search says:

Sinclair Broadcasting has set up an automated response for complaints about their upcoming propaganda fest at (410) 568-1780; if you're bored and looking to get the blood boiling, give it a ring.

(Courtesy of Matthew Yglesias)
 
 
sleazenation
08:42 / 13.10.04
Here are some alternative numbers

Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. - http://www.sbgi.net/
10706 Beaver Dam Road
Hunt Valley, MARYLAND 21030 +1 410 568-1500
+1 410 568-1533

First person who gets hold of either

Chairman, President & Chief Executive - David D. Smith or Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer & Secretary - David B. Amy's an manages to explain their concerns and a calm and structured fashion will have achieved something special.
 
 
STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK
09:45 / 13.10.04
Fucking disgusting.

I know little of American broadcasting- are these stations watched by a lot of people? I mean, it's pretty fucking out of order whatever, but just HOW out of order? Is this the equivalent of, say the BBC in terms of audience saturation, or Men & Motors (actually, even 62xM&M's viewing figures would be a fair bit).
 
 
Jack Fear
11:46 / 13.10.04
As noted in the first post, these 62 stations together reach (in theory) about a quarter of America's households. This doc won't be hard to find, if you're looking for it; indeed, the Fox affiliate right here in the Flower City is a Sinclair station.

What's most worrisome, though, is the markets of the stations: if Sinclair's holdings were entirely in firmly-Red or firmly-Blue states, that's be one thing--most folks there would, presumably, already have their minds made up. But bombing the swing-state airwaves with this shit can make real mischief.

Cries of "free speech" or censorship" are really a red herring in this case. If this were paid political advertising--an hour-long infomercial--that'd be one thing. But airing a partisan film by corporate diktat is right out of order. The individual station manager can, in theory, refuse to follow the order from the home office--but he'll be looking for a new job on Monday.

If Sinclair sounds familiar, BTW, it's because they're the ones who (as alluded to above) orderd their stations to pre-empt the ABC network feed when Nightline did its special episode where the names of all those killed in combat in Iraq were read aloud.
 
 
Baz Auckland
11:49 / 13.10.04
According to the website, they reach about 25% of the US population. They run "20 FOX, 19 WB, 6 UPN, 8 ABC, 3 CBS, 4 NBC affiliates and 2 independent stations." So that pretty much covers all the major networks in some areas...
 
 
STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK
11:55 / 13.10.04
Oops, missed that bit.
 
 
FinderWolf
12:54 / 13.10.04
This story has now graduated to the major news media. So at least it's being discredited a lot on the national stage -- every article dealing with it pretty much points out that what Sinclair is doing shows heavy bias.

The question is, will Congress and/or the FCC stop this broadcast before it happens, or just wrangle about it after it airs, which may be too late...?
 
 
grant
15:49 / 13.10.04
Sinclair has popped up on Barbelith before; they're the ones who make "local" programming from a centralized source -- so the information for your neighborhood that seems like it's telling you what's really happening near you is actually coming from a studio somewhere thousands of miles away.
 
 
FinderWolf
16:32 / 13.10.04
>> Sinclair Broadcasting has set up an automated response for complaints about their upcoming propaganda fest at (410) 568-1780; if you're bored and looking to get the blood boiling, give it a ring.

I just called this number and left a message. I did a pretty good job of keeping my cool but making my strong objections known.

I tried the alternate number with the VP and such listed above and got a busy signal, of course.
 
 
FinderWolf
15:04 / 14.10.04
I sort of wanted/expected the moderator at last night's debate to bring this up, but alas, no.
 
 
FinderWolf
15:14 / 14.10.04
from an email from moveon.org:

>> Your efforts are already paying off:
- Sinclair's stock price is down.
- Advertisers, such as Sylvan Learning Centers, have already announced that the are pulling ads from Sinclair stations.
- A search today on Google News shows 664 stories about the Sinclair controversy.

We have made good progress, but we must push forward. Please forward this message and tell your friends to sign the Stop Sinclair petition TODAY.

http://www.stopsinclair.org/refer.php
 
 
bjacques
16:51 / 14.10.04
If there's anything good on TV Monday night viewers won't like it being pre-empted and the advertisers who pre-bought the ad space might sue for breach of contract.

Re the stock price dropping: GOD bless America and the Free Market! Can I get a "Hallelujah!"?
 
 
ibis the being
18:18 / 14.10.04
In the biggest shocker of the year, the FCC refuses to block Sinclair's anti-Kerry propaganda.

Now, why in the world would Michael Powell want to grease the wheels of a propaganda machine aimed at keeping his daddy in the US government? Why on Earth would he call this a first amendment issue but Howard Stern can't say "anal sex" on radio?

Nope, no conflict of interest there.
 
 
Hieronymus
18:39 / 14.10.04
From what I understand, Colin Powell isn't interested in keeping the job after this election. So I doubt his son is doing it out of job security for dad.

Hitting them in the advertising wallet is our only real recourse now that it's clear where the FCC's loyalties are.
 
 
FinderWolf
19:01 / 14.10.04
Your link above doesn't seem to work, but I believe you about the FCC's decision - gonna go check it out on the news sites.
 
 
ibis the being
19:12 / 14.10.04
Oops, I was talking on the phone while posting. This outta work -

FCC won't block anti-Kerry ad.
 
 
FinderWolf
19:38 / 14.10.04
Fuck. I can't believe it. What about all the hubub when people said Michael Moore's COMMERCIALS for "Farenheit 9/11" violated campaign airtime laws?!?!?!? WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT ALL ABOUT, THEN, IF THE FCC HAS NO POWER TO REGULATE SUCH THINGS, as Powell claims?? Under what grounds did those complaints about fucking TV COMMERCIALS FOR A MOVIE HAVE ANY BASIS!??!??!!

ARRRRggghhh.
 
 
bjacques
09:38 / 15.10.04
Once upon a time there was such a thing as "equal time," in which a network that aired an editorial had to offer airtime for opposing views, even if it wa in the graveyard slot. Reagan did away with that. I don't think the FCC *can* block such a broadcast. If it does violate federal election laws, it might fall under the jurisdiction of the FEC, the Federal Election Commission. But it probably doesn't.

I saw the petition and sample letters. A boycott is good, but a better tactic might be letter reminding the advertisers that the airtime slots they bought are going for this crap and not "Angel" or "Family Guy" or whatever prime time show is on.
 
 
FinderWolf
01:32 / 16.10.04
OH MY GOD!!! Michael Moore had a PAY TV (like Pay Per View) special airing of his Farenheit 9/11 movie and the ompany that was backing it CANCELLED it!!! And yet Sinclair gets to spread their fucking bullshit on MAJOR NETWORKS, not Pay Per View!!! My uncle fucking died in Vietnam, I was NAMED after him, and only a nationalist blind asshole would say that Kerry's speaking out against atrocities was condemning ALL Vietnam soliders!!! That's like saying "Love it or leave, Commie pinko bastard! You spit on our boys in uniform!!" when someone points out how horrible the Abu Gharib prison scandal was.

NEMESIS, LET JUSTICE BE SERVED ON THE SINCLAIR BROADCASTING GROUP!!!! LET THEM GET WHAT IT COMING TO THEM!!!!!

Grrr...

---

Moore's Pre-Election TV Special Nixed

Fri Oct 15, 7:18 PM ET Top Stories - AP


By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer

NEW YORK - The cable pay-per-view company iN DEMAND has backed away from a plan to show a three-hour election eve special with filmmaker Michael Moore that included the first television showing of his documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11."

The company said Friday it would not air "The Michael Moore Pre-Election Special" due to "legitimate business and legal concerns." A spokesman would not elaborate.

Moore has just released his movie on DVD and was seeking a TV outlet for the film, which sharply criticizes President Bush (news - web sites), as close to the election as possible.

Earlier this week, trade publications said Moore was close to a deal with iN DEMAND for the special, which would also include interviews with politically-active celebrities and admonitions to vote. The Nov. 1 special was to be available for $9.95.

Moore was not immediately available for comment, a spokeswoman said.

The New York-based iN DEMAND, owned by the Time Warner, Cox and Comcast cable companies, makes pay-per-view programming available in 28 million homes, or about one-quarter of the nation's homes with television.

In a statement, iNDEMAND said "we regret that our decision has led Michael Moore to consider legal action against us," which it said would be "entirely baseless and groundless." The company did not say what legal action Moore was considering.

This spring, Moore did battle with the Walt Disney Co., which refused to release "Fahrenheit 9/11" through its Miramax Films because it was too politically partisan for the company's taste.

After that fight became public, Moore found other distributors. The movie, which attacks Bush's handling of the war on terrorists and war in Iraq (news - web sites) and the Bush family's ties to Saudi royalty, earned more than $100 million at the box office.

In an interview with a Maine television station that aired this week, former President George H.W. Bush called Moore a "slimeball" and an expletive.
 
 
FinderWolf
02:17 / 16.10.04
progress from the people at stopsinclair.org:

>> Over 50 Confirmed Pullouts

Progress Update: As of right now, we have over 50 confirmed advertiser pullouts from Sinclair, including at least one large national advertiser. Although I have decided to hold fast to a position of not revealing the names of those who have pulled out, I will pass on the names of the companies who have specifically instructed me to do so. At this time, I have no such instructions. As you receive information on pullouts, please email them to me at mail@boycottsbg.com. Please do not assume that I already know.

>> Progress Update 2: The folks at www.stopsinclair.com have gathered nearly 90,000 signatures for their petition. Out goal is to gather 10,000 more in the next 2 hours, so please pass this on to as many people as possible.
 
 
FinderWolf
02:27 / 16.10.04
Also, a documentary filmmaker who made a pro-Kerry film called "Brothers In Arms" about Kerry's service has proposed a de facto "Equal Time" solution, where major networks would show his film in response in key states, to balance out Sinclair, since the FCC won't do anything and says companies can air what they please.

Also, this was posted on an anti-Sinclair site...

>> Wednesday, October 13, 2004
EQUAL TIME MAY BE AT HAND...
We are working closely with a national network to get a great doc, by a well-known director, about the real iraq war aired the night before the election.

We are getting close.

Developing...
 
 
Tamayyurt
02:51 / 16.10.04
Dude, this is insane! I've signed the petition and sent it to friends. Thanks for all the updates, Finderwolf.
 
 
FinderWolf
13:22 / 18.10.04
I was so pissed about this Friday night that I sent out a letter to about 35 companies who advertise with Sinclair and also sent letters to about 9 newspapers (all via email of course).

I got this response from Prudential (I'm not a client of theirs but who cares). It's kind of funny how they tread the line and don't actually take any sort of stance, essentially saying nothing.

---

Dear Mr. Wolf,

Thank you for your note concerning Sinclair Broadcast Group. Prudential Financial and American Skandia are committed to making business decisions that are in the best interest of our clients. In doing so, we strive to
act in a fair and nonpartisan manner.

We appreciate your taking the time to bring your concerns to our attention.

Sincerely,

American Skandia, a Prudential Financial Company
 
 
FinderWolf
14:51 / 18.10.04
oooh, and the plot thickens...one of the veterans interviewed in the documentary is suing the film's producers, and threatening to sue Sinclar...

-------

Anti-Kerry Film Producer Accused of Libel

29 minutes ago
Yahoo News
By DAVID B. CARUSO, Associated Press Writer

PHILADELPHIA - A Vietnam veteran shown in a documentary criticizing Sen. John Kerry (news - web sites)'s anti-war activities filed a libel lawsuit against the movie's producer Monday, saying the film falsely calls the veteran a fraud and a liar.

Kenneth J. Campbell, now a professor at the University of Delaware, said in the suit that "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal" combines footage of him appearing at a 1971 war protest with narration that claims that many of the supposed veterans who took part in the event were later "discovered as frauds" who "never set foot on the battlefield, or left the comfort of the States, or even served in uniform."

The suit said viewers would be left with the perception that Campbell had lied about his military service.

Campbell attached copies of his military records to the lawsuit, showing that he received a Purple Heart and eight other medals, ribbons and decorations for his service in Vietnam.

Film producer Carlton Sherwood's company, Red White and Blue Productions, did not immediately return a call on Monday seeking comment.

Campbell also threatened legal action against the Sinclair Broadcast Group, an owner of 62 television stations that has announced that it intends to pre-empt regular programming to broadcast "Stolen Honor."

The film explores Kerry's 1971 testimony before the Senate and links him to anti-war activist and actress Jane Fonda. Vietnam prisoners of war claim in the film that his testimony demeaned them and led to prisoners being held longer.
----------------------

NICE. This is a positive move by an average citizen...
 
 
ibis the being
14:52 / 18.10.04
Man, FinderWolf, you're always a halfstep ahead of me! Nice updating....
 
  

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