NIGHTLINE'S TRANSPARENT STUNT

New York Post ^ | 4/30/04

[kattracks]

April 30, 2004 -- Tonight, ABC's "Nightline" will do something unique: It will use its entire program to show the name and face of each U.S. service member killed in Iraq, including those who died in accidents and other non-combat situations. There's nothing inherently wrong with this. Done right, it could serve as a moving tribute to those young Americans who have died in the War on Terror.

[goldstategop]

The liberals will stoop to nothing in an effort to get the American people to turn against the War in Iraq and the War On Terror, even if it means exploiting our servicemen and women in the field to do so. For them, its all about politics, not about saluting those who are defending their country from harm. They think we are just too stupid to see what they're doing and their agenda in putting the names and faces of our soldiers on TV.

[GeronL]

bump

[ChefKeith]

You forgot the part that ted "has-been" koppel is just begging for veiwers.

[BigSkyFreeper]

Correct. This is sweeps month afterall. He's going for a two-fer.

[ChefKeith]

every DAY is sweeps for ted.

The only use I have for abc is auto races, other than that they are like the UN... of no good use to human kind.

[onyx]

This abomination has garnered so much free hype
that I'm afraid it'll now get big ratings.

[garylmoore]

Who's Ted Koppel ?

[ChefKeith]

We can only Pray that most veiwers see past the spin and respect the loss of these fine Soldiers lives no matter how it happened.

I live just outside Ft. Hood and they Troops that come back are wondering how They will be recieved.

I personally thank Them when I pass Them in parking lots,stores, ect.

If I have cash (I don't make a lot of $$$) and they are in line at a store with Me I'll pay all or part of their bill, and tell Them "Thank You for what You do"

[Common Tator]

What you see with one chain of stations refusing to carry the program is the result of the FCC(under colin Powell's) son changing the ownership rules.

It used to be no company could own more than 7 TV stations. And the big ones (New york, LA,and Chicago) were owned by the networks. Any other owner was apt to own at most 3 stations on one of the major networks. Individual owners had no clout. The law said owners did not have to carry stuff like this, but if a station did not, they would lift the stations network affiliation. The networks took in huge bucks and paid the local stations substantial amounts.

For Example a station in Columbus Ohio with one of the big three networks, got paid enough for carrying the major networks programming to cover all operational costs.

Today with audiences at about a third of what they used to be, networks pay the stations only minor funds for carrying the network shows.

Plus we are seeing chains that are made up of 60 or 70 stations. Thus an individual owner may have 15 or 20 stations out of the networks 400 affiliates.

In days to come as more and more groups gain more and more stations, ABC, NBC, and CBS will have to answer to their affiliates. There will come a day when this sort of crap will cost them 100 or 150 stations not carrying this show.

Since the number of channels are to be reduced with High Def TV, the networks will have to please the affiliates rather than the affiliates obey the network.

This taking sides stuff is hard on local stations. Local Clients like car dealerships can and do pull advertising from local stations that cross the line.

The networks are used to being the all powerful people to whom all must bow. At one time it was newspapers who were the big deal. In the early days of Radio and TV the newspapers demanded to have access to politicians first. Radio and TV people had to wait. Radio and TV people were not even allowed in the Washington Press Core.

But when politicians discovered that TV And Radio had far more clout with voters,they put newspaper people in the back of the bus.

If George Bush gets the USA wired for high speed internet access, then politic ans and government officials can get to the people directly. They won't need a network or newspapers to reach the people. '

The white house, congress, the courts and the parties will have web sites with audio and video of all that happens. We will also see what the papers and networks cover. We can see what happened and how the networks spun it. The networks will have all the credibility of the 911 commission.

Did you see where 911 members, Hamilton and Kerrey, left the White House during the Bush testimony?

As Al Sharpton would say, " If the cameras ain't on... We be gone!!

[onyx]

You are a wonderful person.
I'm sure you have touched the hearts and minds
of everyone you've encountered.

[weegee]

What's ironic is that ABC is owned by Disney and Walt Disney's pro-war effort films are finally being released to the public.

Walt Disney is spinning in his grave.

On The Front Lines (tentative contents):

Disc 1
Donald Gets Drafted
The Army Mascot
The Vanishing Private
Sky Trooper
Private Pluto
Fall Out Fall In
Victory Vehicles
The Old Army Game
Home Defense
How to Be a Sailor
Commando Duck
The Thrifty Pig
Seven Wise Dwarfs
Food Will Win the War
Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Firing Line
Donald's Decision
All Together
The New Spirit
The Spirit of '43
The Winged Scourge
Defense Against Invasion
The Grain That Built A Hemisphere
Cleanliness Brings Health
What Is Disease?
Planning for Good Eating
Der Fuehrer's Face (with Introduction)
Education for Death (with Introduction)
Reason and Emotion (with Introduction)
Chicken Little (with Introduction)

Disc Two:
Victory Through Air Power (with Introduction)
Four Methods of Flush Riveting
Stop That Tank
Training Film Montage
On the Set of "Victory Through Air Power"
Victory Through Air Power Trailer
A Conversation with Joe Hench
A Conversation with Joe Grant
A Conversation with Roy Disney
Production Art Galleries
Victory Through Air Power Gallery

Whether this release will come out on May 18, 2004 is anybody's guess. The title has been postponed at least 2 other times already (and possibly 3). It could even get the same treatment as some other dvds (released and immediately recalled meaning only pre-ordered copies or stores that ignore the recall will be sold).

[ChefKeith]

I try to. Just wish I could find a good Woman.

[onyx]

A good one, will find you.
Trust me on this.

[hershey]

They'd prefer to see Los Angeles or New York go up in a mushroom cloud thanks to Osama's buddies, rather than have the US beat the enemy in his lair...because they don't think Muslim crackpots are the real enemy, republicans are.

[meenie]

Two sides drive this issue and the soldiers involved are robbed of the respect and recognition of their sacrifice. The media tries to publicize the death toll that is ongoing to raise the anti-war sentiment against the administration and re-election. The administration tries to minimize the issue by avoiding the coverage as much as possible of the coffins and wounded coming back from Iraq. This happening in an election year compounds the problem. A very shameful way to treat our troops and the sacrifices they are making.

[Prince Charles]

"NightLie" and its crew of lucubrative liars have really overplayed their hands this time. Any thinking person can see this as the "twofer" it really is: A sweeps stunt, and a 30-minute ad for the DNC.

[Dudoight]

Did Koeppell take time to run photographs and names of all the 9-11 victims? If he is interested in fairness in this, he needs to run photos of ALL the casualties of this war.

[Brandon]

One question, and one point to make:

The question: Does Mr. Koppel have permission from each and every family to show their loved ones' images on national television? (I presume they are not legally required to have such permission, since they're going ahead and doing it, but ethically I would think it would be mandatory.)

The point: The fact that all American casualties can be shown during a brief nightly news program demonstrates how low the casualty rate is. I wonder how much air time would be required to read the names and show the faces of all of Saddam's victims?

[boxerblues]

Permission? Who needs it the front page of USA Today has the photos of all those who were killed this month.

[#3Fan]

I wonder if they could show all the faces of those killed by the Clinton crime machine, including the faces of all those on the plane with Ron Brown.

[kitkat]

***Did Koeppell take time to run photographs and names of all the 9-11 victims? If he is interested in fairness in this, he needs to run photos of ALL the casualties of this war.***

EXCELLENT.

Also, any viewer who sits for a half hour and looks at these pictures has to be a ghoul.

[alrea]

The liberals will stoop to nothing in an effort to get the American people to turn against the War in Iraq and the War On Terror

liberals are hurting kerry with their obvious bias. they turn these guys loose with news programming and the ratings continue to drop. they are eroding their customer base one by one, and eventually there will be a guy from fox news sitting on nightline as the liberals literally run out of people to spin to.

the funniest thing about this is that the liberals are trying their best to make the iraq war a re-run of their glory days in vietnam, when they felt so important. vietnam didn't knock down any buildings in new york.

[js1138]

In a related story, Nightline will devote the remainder of May to reading the names of the 70,000 Iraqis who will not be murdered by Saddam Hussein this year.

[KingKangaroo]

This does smell of exploitation but I also feel that President Bush's refusal to allow coverage or commemoration of Iraq victims is alos politicised. A middle way perhaps?

[auboy]

Koppel and his producers admit that they mean to create a video version of a now-famous 1969 issue of Life magazine, which was devoted entirely to running the photos of all U.S. soldiers killed during one week's combat in Vietnam.

Koppel and his producers should show the faces of the millions of babies aborted each year. The faces of the hundreds of thousand of Iraqis killed by Saddam. The faces of the million Rwandans slaughtered while the UN and WJC twiddled their thumbs.

How about it Ted? You got anything to show besides attempting your Vietnam reruns?

[17th Miss Regt]

Like that long-ago issue of Life, it suggests that only those who oppose the war understand that behind the casualty statistics lie real young men and women.

I think that those who oppose the war understand that behind the mass graves statistics lie real men and women and children. And they approve of the mass graves. And the reasons for filling them. It is just their mindset.

[Sacajaweau]

And when he's done, I hope he reads the names of the 3000 people who were killed in NY and DC and the names of the folks on the Cole and at the Embassies. Lest We Forget!!

[17th Miss Regt]

And when he's done, I hope he reads the names of the 3000 people who were killed in NY and DC and the names of the folks on the Cole and at the Embassies. Lest We Forget!!

Oh, no! We can't have that. Reading the names of all the dead victims would be to disrespect them and dishonor their memory. Unlike reading the names of all the dead in the armed forces. Remember, they are usually Republicans and therefore their lives are expendable. (Democrat off)

[kabar]

There is one word that demonstrates ABC's political agenda: Afghanistan. Why? The elite media and the Dems don't consider Iraq as part of the War on Terror. By not honoring the personnel who gave their lives in Afghanistan and who were attacking those who were responsibile for 9/11, ABC's contention that they are honoring the dead rings hollow.

[lilypad]

If memory serves my correctly, wasnt there an outrage about one of the stations wanting to show 9/11 people jumping out of the building? They were blocked from doing this...

[Semper Paratus]

Koppel was the only one of the embedded reporters I saw who clearly did not like the assignment.

[maica]

Thanks for the background info on the shifting power of media outlets. I have already sent a thank you note to Sinclair Broadcasting, who have chosen not to show tonight's Nightline on their ABC affiliates.

[rbmillerjr]

Listen the Koppel's and liberals that relished the PR victory they won for Ho Chi Minh will always be looking for the next opportunity to create a "Vietnam" quaqmire.

[maica]

The anti-US force-retaliation crowd want to erase the memory of the Twin Towers, themselves, as well as the people who were incinerated that day, from the minds of every American. Even the image of the skyline of New York pre-9/11 is considered practically verboten, and definitely "insensitive."

[The Mayor]

memories of Vietnam

[maica]

Yes, they will, and they are focused on persuading the uninformed. Luckily for the future of the US, there are now plenty of informed, and patriotic Americans who will actively object to their propaganda.

We have to accept that we have to BE active and step up to the plate. Writing to editors, phoning or emailing talk shows, organizations, members of congress, etc, talking to neighbors, friends, etc etc.

This, instead of rolling bandages as in wars past, I consider our duty of support for our fighting forces in harm's way.

[mondoman]

What is their email address. I would like to commend them as well.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

The liberals will stoop to (stop at?) nothing in an effort to get the American people to turn against the War in Iraq and the War On Terror

Won't work. The Hippie movement is dead an those that hang on to those dated and dead ideals have no clue as to how the Everyday American feels about the puke that they are spewing.

[Ditter]

Ted Koppel? Is he still on the air?

[bondjamesbond]

As is another message embedded in the Koppel project: that the War on Terror is too costly. "If the motivation to go to war is . . . justifiable," the aging anchor has said, "then the cost, whether it is 500 or 5,000 or 50,000 [lives] is something people will accept. Should the motivation not be good, then five is too many."

This is absolutely true. If the war is justified, then the casualties, while regretable, are acceptable. If the war is not justified, then one is to many. I have tried to explain this to people when they point out that a certain number of soldiers have died that day in Iraq, and try to use these deaths as an argument against the war.

Nobody expected this victory to be free. Everybody knew there would be deaths. How a person reacts to these deaths does not indicate how sympathetic they are, but rather how they view the mission. In fact, I would wager that a greater proportion of those who find the mission worth it are generally more sympathetic to the sacrifices of our soldiers.

[mewzilla]

Sweeps ends the weekend before Memorial Day, BTW. What's Tikrit Ted going to do on Memorial Day? And are those servicemen who lost their lives in that copter accident down South going to have their names read? Is ad time going to be sold during this? I called my local affiliate and they're clueless, so far, on that question.

[von Lettow]

At least,nightline knows the number of our friends killed in iraq! Our esteemed asst sec of defense Wolfowitz does not! This execrable bureaucrat should be run out of our country .

[maica]

http://www.newscentral.tv/thepoint/editorial.shtml

I went to the webpage for Mark Hyman, the Vice-president of Sinclair who does a nightly commentary called "the Point" on the Sinclair affiliates, because I could not fine the address for Sinclair.

[mondoman]

Contact is Mark Hyman, VP of Corporate Relations

http://www.newscentral.tv/station/contact_talent.shtml

send an email of support.