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Hannaford taking talking points and debate lessons from john f. kerry. There next statement will be: "we actually did pull our ad before we ran it."
Posted on 10/16/2004 6:07:08 AM PDT by owls_man
One day after saying they were pulling their ads from Portland TV station WGME to avoid political controversy, officials at the Hannaford supermarket chain reversed their decision Friday for the same reason.
Hannaford on Thursday announced it was pulling its ads from WGME (Channel 13) because of the station's planned airing of a documentary film critical of presidential candidate John Kerry.
Hannaford spokesperson Caren Epstein said Thursday the supermarket chain was "apolitical" and did not want to be associated with the growing controversy over the film.
On Friday, Epstein said the company was reversing its decision, again to try to remain out of the political storm.
"We recognize that WGME has been placed in an untenable position," said Epstein, in a written statement. "It was never our intention to politicize this issue even more by our action, or to punish WGME. Hannaford is in the supermarket business, not the political business. We make our media buying decisions based on our customer demographic."
After reading the statement, Epstein said she would not comment further. A similar statement is posted on the Hannaford Web site at www.hannaford.com.
WGME is one of the 62 stations owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group that is scheduled to show the documentary "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal" less than two weeks before the presidential election. It will be shown commercial-free.
Sinclair, based in Baltimore, Md., has been criticized for pushing a conservative agenda and for running a documentary that some consider an attack ad against Kerry.
In the documentary, Vietnam veterans accuse Kerry of helping to prolong the war by speaking against it publicly. Kerry was a decorated Vietnam veteran who spoke against the war once his tours of duty were over.
Some people argue that many media outlets are controlled by liberals and promote a liberal agenda, so they see Sinclair as simply presenting an opposing viewpoint.
In Maine, callers on both sides have flooded WGME's phone lines. People against airing the documentary have started campaigns to get businesses to stop advertising with WGME and with Sinclair stations elsewhere.
Hannaford's decision to pull its ads from WGME was reported in the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram on Friday. The story mentioned two other well-known Maine businesses also pulled their ads, Lee Auto Malls and the law offices of Joe Bornstein.
But both Adam Lee and Bornstein said they were pulling their ads because they thought showing a supposedly biased documentary of a presidential candidate was unfair. The founder of the Lee auto dealerships, Shepard Lee, has long been active in Democratic politics and was a friend of and key fund-raiser for the late Sen. Edmund Muskie.
But he said the company's decision to pull its ads had nothing to do with his politics or those of his son Adam, who's much less active politically. Shepard Lee said the decision to air the program is bothersome because it is a betrayal of the public trust and he would have felt the same way if the issue were reversed.
"The obligation is to be fair to both sides," he said. "I think, if you are the person running the station, you shouldn't be using the airwaves awarded to you as a political instrument."
On Friday, at least one more business pulled ads from WGME. Five County Credit Union, based in Bath, pulled its ads from WGME after getting calls from the public.
"It's not a political statement for us, but we do feel there are questions about fairness," said Jennifer DeChant, marketing specialist with the credit union.
Sinclair officials say they have offered Kerry a chance to be part of an on-air discussion following the film.
Kerry's campaign has responded by asking instead that Kerry supporters in the cities of each Sinclair station be given a block of air time comparable to the documentary's, in terms of time length and audience size.
"Stolen Honor" is scheduled to air on WGME at 8 p.m. on Oct. 23, pre-empting a repeat episode of the CBS crime drama "Cold Case."
Staff Writer Ray Routhier can be contacted at 791-6454 or at:
rrouthier@pressherald.com
You bet!
It's about time.
HUH? Are they pulling the ads or not?
Okay I read further and they are not pulling the ads. Just another example of horrible writing.
Could be someone in marketing listened to their customers or shareholders.
Only place around that stocks kimchee.
and if the stations were to give that comparable time, suddenly the "instant polls" would be saying that they got 98% of the share for that time block....
oh, and Kerry won the debates.
and Bush will re-institute the draft.
don't forget, Mary Cheney is gay.
Nope. Wish that were the case, but it was reversed before feedback got to the powers that be.
Hannaford taking talking points and debate lessons from john f. kerry. There next statement will be: "we actually did pull our ad before we ran it."
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