Democrats Win Partial Victory as Sinclair Retreats on Airing Anti-Kerry Film
Seattle Times
Under
mounting political, legal and financial pressure, Sinclair Broadcast
Group yesterday backed away from its plan to carry a film attacking
Sen. John Kerry's Vietnam record, saying it would air only portions of
the documentary in an hour-long special scheduled for Friday.
The
company's announcement came hours after shareholders challenged
Sinclair's plans to air the program, saying the controversial broadcast
might hurt their investment.
… “The
experience of preparing to air this news special has been trying for
many of those involved,” Sinclair Chief Executive David Smith said. [Oh, waaaa!]
“The company and many of its executives have endured personal attacks
of the vilest nature, as well as calls on our advertisers and our
viewers to boycott our stations and on our shareholders to sell their
stock.” [Well done, people!]
Democrats
have complained to three federal agencies about the Sinclair special,
arguing that the broadcast should be considered an illegal in-kind
contribution to the Bush campaign and noting that Smith and his three
brothers, who run the company, have contributed heavily to Bush and the
Republican Party.
(Click here to read the complete article.)
Media Matters Threatens Sinclair with Lawsuit
Threat of Shareholder Lawsuit Underwritten by Media Matters for America Sparks Sinclair to Change Plans
(Washington,
DC, October 19, 2004) — At approximately 3:45 p.m. (EDT) on October
19, a representative of Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. called Mr. Jim
Glickenhaus, a general partner in the Wall Street investment firm
Glickenhaus & Co., to state that a response was forthcoming to a
demand letter submitted earlier in the day by Glickenhaus, whose firm
holds 6,100 shares of Sinclair stock. The demand letter, underwritten
by Media Matters for America (MMFA), threatened legal action if
Sinclair aired the anti-Kerry documentary Stolen Honor: Wounds That
Never Heal on all 62 of its stations reaching up to 25 percent of U.S.
TV households.
At
approximately 4 p.m., Sinclair representatives faxed Glickenhaus a
statement declaring that Sinclair Broadcast Group will not be airing
Stolen Honor in its entirety, but will instead air a “news special” to
be “produced with the highest journalistic standards and integrity.” [I'll believe THAT when I see it.]
(Read the complete article here.)
Orwellian Twist on the Campaign
by John Nichols, The Nation
“Political
language…is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder
respectable, and to give the appearance of solidity to pure wind.” —
George Orwell
George
Orwell shaped our imagination of a future in which a propagandistic
media produced a steady stream of up-is-down, right-is-wrong,
war-is-peace lies in order to impose the will of a governing elite upon
the subject citizenry.
Orwell
reckoned this ultimate diminution of democracy would come in the year
1984. Imperfect genius that he was, the author missed the mark by
twenty years. But, after watching the controversy regarding the
Sinclair Broadcast Group's scheme to air the truth-impaired
mockumentary Stolen Honor in an attempt to stall the momentum John
Kerry's campaign gained from the presidential debates, it becomes
evident that the future Orwell imagined is unfolding.
Forget
about the anti-Kerry fantasy film Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal.
That comic attempt at a documentary is nothing more than a 42- minute
“Swift Boat Veterans for Truth”-style television commercial produced by
a former longtime employee of Tom Ridge, the secretary of George W.
Bush's Department of Homeland Security–an agency that pays daily
homage to Orwell with everything from its name to those color-coded
terrorism warnings.
But
don't forget about the Sinclair Broadcast Group. If you want to see the
Orwellian media future that the Bush administration envisions, pay
close attention to Sinclair.
(Click here to read the complete article.)
Blog For Iowa 
It's still important to contact the Des Moines affiliate of Sinclair: Fox 17 KDSM, to ask for truly fair and balanced reporting of the campaign. This alternative, a one-hour docuemtnrary about the controversy, does not go far enough.
Their email is:
NEWS@KDSM17.COM
Their telephone:
515-256-1700
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