From the Sinclair website
Sinclair to Air "A POW Story"
BALTIMORE (October 19, 2004) - Sinclair Broadcast Group (Nasdaq: SBGI)
announced today that on Friday, October 22, 2004 at 8:00 p.m. (7:00 p.m.
central time) certain television stations owned by Sinclair Broadcast
Group, Inc. will air a special one-hour news program, entitled A POW Story:
Politics, Pressure and the Media. In order to minimize the interruption of
normally scheduled programming in those markets where Sinclair owns and/or
programs more than one television station, the news special will be
broadcast on only one of those stations. A complete list of stations which
will be airing the program and the times of such broadcasts is attached.
The news special will focus in part on the use of documentaries and
other media to influence voting, which emerged during the 2004 political
campaigns, as well as on the content of certain of these documentaries.
The program will also examine the role of the media in filtering the
information contained in these documentaries, allegations of media bias by
media organizations that ignore or filter legitimate news and the attempts
by candidates and other organizations to influence media coverage.
Contrary to numerous inaccurate political and press accounts, the
Sinclair stations will not be airing the documentary "Stolen Honor" in its
entirety. At no time did Sinclair ever publicly announce that it intended
to do so. In fact, since the controversy began, Sinclair's website has
prominently displayed the following statement: "The program has not been
videotaped and the exact format of this unscripted event has not been
finalized. Characterizations regarding the content are premature and are
based on ill-informed sources."
While the news special will discuss the allegations surrounding Senator
John Kerry's anti-Vietnam War activities in the early 1970s raised by a
number of former POWs in "Stolen Honor," it will do so in the context of
the broader discussion outlined above. The program will be hosted by Jeff
Barnd, the Emmy award winning co-anchor of Fox 45's 10:00 News which airs
on WBFF-TV, Sinclair's flagship station in Baltimore, Maryland.
Joe DeFeo, Sinclair's Vice President of News commented that, "As with
all news programming produced by Sinclair's News Central, A POW Story is
being produced with the highest journalistic standards and integrity. We
have not ceded, and will not in the future cede, control of our news
reporting to any outside organization or political group. We are
endeavoring, as we do with all of our news coverage, to present both sides
of the issues covered in an equal and impartial manner."
In fact, Sinclair has been in private communication with Senator
Kerry's campaign, including a recent face-to-face meeting with senior
campaign officials, for approximately two weeks in order to negotiate
participation in the special by either Senator Kerry or his designee.
Although the Kerry campaign declined to participate, Sinclair has left the
invitation open and will make every effort to accommodate the Senator up to
the air date for the program should he become willing to present his
viewpoint for Sinclair's audience.
David Smith noted that, "The experience of preparing to air this news
special has been trying for many of those involved. 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. In addition, and more
shockingly, we have received threats of retribution from a member of
Senator John Kerry's campaign and have seen attempts by leading members of
Congress to influence the Federal Communications Commission to stop
Sinclair from broadcasting this news special. Moreover, these coordinated
attacks have occurred without regard to the facts since they predated the
broadcast of our news special."
Mr. Smith further stated, "We cannot in a free America yield to the
misguided attempts by a small but vocal minority to influence behavior and
trample on the First Amendment rights of those with whom they might not
agree. I have been encouraged, however, by the thousands of e-mails and
other messages I, and others, received supporting Sinclair's efforts to
hold firm to its ideals in the face of a firestorm of controversy which,
ironically, was actually based on misinformation. We also took comfort in
the positions of other media organizations which supported our right to
present this story notwithstanding any disagreement they may have with the
content, as well as in the words of Michael Powell, Chairman of the FCC who
refused to block the program, noting that to do so would be
'unconstitutional' and 'an absolute disservice to the First Amendment.'"
Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc., one of the largest and most diversified
television broadcasting companies, owns and operates, programs, or provides
sales services to 62 television stations in 39 markets. Sinclair's
television group includes FOX, WB, ABC, CBS, NBC, and UPN affiliates and
reaches approximately 24% of all U.S. television households
http://sbgweb2.sbgnet.com/press/release_20041019_87.shtml
Thank you for adding it to the thread. It is good to read what is on Sinclair website to go along with the articles that are being printed about them. Thank you.