We Love the Sound of Hyman Whining in the Morning. . . It Sounds Like Victory The rational counter to “The Point,” “The Counterpoint”
critiques and corrects the daily editorial by Sinclair Broadcasting's
corporate vice president, Mark Hyman, that is broadcast on all
Sinclair-owned television stations across the country. by Iowa's Ted Remington
We’re not buying it, Mark.
You’re
pretty good at playing dumb, but we know you understand exactly how
faulty your apples and oranges comparisons are in your recent
commentary defending “The Point.” We know you don’t believe your own
spin.
Not that
we don’t understand why you’re spinning the way you are. The coalition
of groups educating viewers and sponsors of the true nature of Sinclair
and “The Point” is formidable. While you call them “obscure,”the fact
is that Moveon.org has over two million members. Media Matters has
become in a matter of months a renowned watchdog group (headed up, by
the way, by a former right-wing conservative commentator who has come
to his senses). And Robert Greenwald produced “Outfoxed,” a highly
successful documentary on Fox news. And they’re having an effect. The
day of your commentary, Staples announced it would no longer advertise
on Sinclair stations because of viewer disgust with your commentaries.
If I were in your shoes, I’d be spinning like mad, too.
And so
here at The Counterpoint, we’ll play along. We’ll pretend that you
actually believe that what you do on television and what news anchors
do is parallel. We’ll also pretend that you really believe there’s a
left-wing media conspiracy (despite all evidence to the contrary).
We’ll pretend that you actually buy your own commentary, and set you
straight, since you seem to be missing the point.
The
point is that you force local stations to use publicly owned airwaves
during a local newscast to air your personal political beliefs.
The
point is that you, unlike everyone else you name in your commentary,
are not a journalist; you’re simply a corporate vice president abusing
your authority to hijack a newscast to spout your personal beliefs.
Even Rupert Murdoch doesn’t abuse his viewers by using his network as a
personal soapbox.
The
point is that while everyone knows who news anchors are and why they’re
appearing on television, you hide your association with Sinclair
Broadcasting, hoping that viewers will assume you’re simply a local
voice.
The
point is that Couric, Jennings, et al are news anchors or hosts who
deliver news stories. They don’t assert that members one political
party or the other “hate our troops,” trade in racist rhetoric, or
slander entire nations whose leaders they disagree with (all of which
are regular components of your commentaries).
The
point is despite your constant insinuations that the individuals you
name are part of a massive left-wing media conspiracy, you never offer
any evidence of this. Can you give us even a single instance of a time
when Katie Couric, Peter Jennings, or Tom Brokaw has slandered George
Bush (or anyone else) in the way you routinely did John Kerry in the
run up to the election?
The
point is that the mainstream media, whom you constantly assert has a
left-wing bias, completely acquiesced to the Bush administration’s
drive to war, never questioning its assertions and happily waving the
flag during the war. Can you provide any evidence at all that there’s
been a left-leaning bias that parallels or makes up for this?
The
point is that 80% of the pundits who appear on news channels to discuss
issues and give their opinions are conservative. 80%, Mark! In what way
does this constitute a left-wing bias?
The
point is, Mark, that even if every news anchor was an active member of
the Communist party, on-air personalities don’t make the calls about
what stories to cover or how to cover them. Corporate officers (like
you) make these calls, and their interests are conservative, not
liberal. Sinclair news personality Jon Lieberman certainly didn’t have
an opportunity to voice his opinions on the air—he served as a
corporate mouthpiece, and when he voiced the first hint of concern
about this, you fired him.
The
point is that when reporters report facts, that’s not bias, even if the
facts might not wholly support your political causes. You remind us of
the Daily Show bit in which George Bush charges that the facts in Iraq
are “un-American” because they undermine his position. Of course, since
you’ve said publicly that simply reporting that a car bombing took
place in Iraq constitutes a liberal bias, anything short of a
Bush/Cheney campaign ad will be guilty of being left-wing propaganda in
your world.
The
point is that you don’t simply offer your opinion. You use faulty
logic, name-calling, and bold-faced lies in your commentaries. There
are plenty of conservative commentators who offer their opinions in
ways that respect the public forum by playing by the basic rules of
fair and honest discourse. They might be wrong, but they voice their
opinions in the right way. You don’t.
The
point is that you and the Smith family who own Sinclair put your own
extreme political values ahead of the rights and responsibilities you
have to your stockholders and your viewers. As a result, your stock has
become nearly worthless, and your stations are more often than not at
the bottom of the ratings in local markets.
The
point is that the airwaves are not owned by you or Sinclair. You’re
using (and abusing) a collectively and publicly held resource to
advance a personal agenda.
The
point is that most local broadcasters and newspapers, when they offer
editorials, invite readers, viewers, or other local figures to respond
in a similar forum. You confine your “equal time” to hand picked
comments that you air on the night with the lowest viewership, Saturday.
The
point is that those of us who are against Sinclair’s misuse of public
airwaves do write to the troops. We also send them care packages and
buy them supplies the Bush administration hasn’t provided. Many of us
have friends and family who are in Iraq. And our concern over the
troops is one of the many reasons we find jingoistic rhetoric so
nauseating, particularly coming from someone like you, who supported
sending troops to fight and die for dishonest reasons, who slandered a
veteran while openly campaigning for a president who lied to the troops
and to the American people about the need for war, who aired propaganda
just before an election and labeled it “news,” and who refused to allow
a simple tribute to those who had died serving our country (Nightline’s
“The Fallen”) to be aired on your stations.
The point is that we deserve better than “The Point.” And we’re going to get it.
And that’s The Counterpoint.
http://www.sinclairaction.com/
From Iowa Rapid Response: You can help in Iowa by contacting the following Iowa Sinclair Affiliates:
Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Dubuque: KGAN Channel 2
e-mail address: kgan@kgan.com
Ph. 800-642-6140 toll free or 319-395-9060
Ames, Des Moines: KDSM Fox 17
e-mail address: comments@kdsm17.com
Ph: 515-287-1717 or FAX: 515-287-0064
NOTE: Sinclair also has outsourcing agreements with stations that
aren’t on the list referenced below (e.g., KFXA and KFXB in Dubuque and
Cedar Rapids, Iowa). These stations also carry Sinclair
newscasts. You can e-mail KFXA/KFXB: fox2840@fox2840.com or
call 319-393-2800
If
you live in these broadcast areas, watch Mark Hyman tonight at the end
of the 10:00 news. We guarantee you will be moved to action!
Resources:
Click here for a list of KGAN Advertisers
If you live in the central Iowa broadcast area, watch your nightly KDSM newscast for advertisers, then click here to post. There are no KDSM advertisers listed on the site yet.
For a complete list of Iowa newspapers, click here .
For a list of Sinclair owned and/or operated stations click here.
If you’re looking for some ideas for responding to “The Point,” visit “The Counterpoint”
Join your fellow Iowans in the fight against media bias. Click here to join RapidResponse – Iowa.
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