Poll: Sinclair should show both sides (Consumers Union Poll believe it or not)

CBS MarketWatch.com ^ | 10/21/04 | Jon Friedman

[SierraWasp]

Poll: Sinclair should show both sides

By Jon Friedman, CBS.MarketWatch.com Last Update: 1:12 PM ET Oct. 21, 2004

NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- People responding to a Consumers Union poll overwhelmingly said that Sinclair Broadcasting Group, the largest U.S. television station company, should air opposing points of view and not only a documentary reviling presidential candidate John Kerry.

According to Consumers Union, the vast majority of Americans aware of the Sinclair situation believed that the opposing political viewpoint should be presented, regardless of where they stood in the political spectrum.

"It's abundantly clear the public wants and expects balance, fairness and equal time from its local broadcasters when it comes to political issues," said Gene Kimmelman, Consumers Union's senior director of public policy, in a statement.

The furor began last week when Sinclair (SBGI: news, chart, profile) said it intended to show "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal," a documentary that strongly criticized Kerry's antiwar activities more than 30 years ago during the Vietnam era.

Sinclair's stock tumbled about 17 percent in the aftermath, as angry institutional investors expressed their disapproval of the one-sided film and urged the company to reconsider its decision.

Stung by the outcry, Sinclair retreated. The company announced it did not intend to show "Stolen Honor" in its entirety. Its shares rose more than 11 percent Wednesday, in the first day of trading after the company's announcement. See full story.

Sinclair will instead air a program called "A P.O.W. Story: Politics, Pressure and the Media."

On Thursday, Sinclair's stock continued to gain, rising another 11 cents to $7.15.

The survey by Consumers Union, which publishes Consumer Reports and professes no political bias, was conducted on Oct. 19 and 20. It revealed that 78 percent of those who were aware of "Stolen Honor" said broadcasters should air the opposing point of view if the program is shown.

Meanwhile, the support for airing of the documentary was divided. Some 51 percent who knew of it supported the decision; 41 percent opposed it; and 9 percent had no opinion.

Even among those people who supported the Sinclair broadcast, 69 percent believed that the program should be balanced by the opposing point of view.

Before Sinclair changed its decision, the company was facing mounting pressure on all sides. The New York Times reported that the Burger King had said it would pull all its commercials from Sinclair stations on the day the program is broadcast as a gesture of maintaining neutrality.

The Kerry campaign also had filed a complaint with regulators, asking for equal time and protesting what Chad Clanton, a spokesman for Kerry, called a "partisan agenda."

On Wall Street, Glickenhaus & Co., which manages $1 billion in assets, came forward to publicly express its disapproval with "Stolen Honor."

In addition, Alan Hevesi, the New York state comptroller and the trustee of the New York State Common Retirement Fund, which owns more than 250,000 shares of Sinclair stock, wrote a letter to David Smith, Sinclair's chief executive, to make the fund's displeasure clear.

Sinclair, whose executives have been among the largest media contributors to President Bush and the Republican Party, is no stranger to controversies.

Last April, its eight ABC affiliates didn't air the "Nightline"' program in which the names of American soldiers killed in Iraq were read aloud. Sinclair declared the program "unpatriotic."

Jon Friedman is media editor for CBS.MarketWatch.com in New York.

[SierraWasp]

I thought Consumers Union (Consumer Reports) was supposed to be apolitical!!! NOT!!!

[SierraWasp]

Consumers Report PING!!! I think they just pulled their own political covers!!!

[WildTurkey]

The furor began last week when Sinclair (SBGI: news, chart, profile) said it intended to show "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal," a documentary that strongly criticized Kerry's antiwar activities more than 30 years ago during the Vietnam era.

Actually, Sinclair said they intended to show excerpts, have a discussion panel and provide Kerry time.

Sinclair == Fair and Balanced

All media reporting about Sinclair == Biased and pro-Kerry

[WildTurkey]

"Stung by the outcry, Sinclair retreated. "

FALSE. That is the democratic spin.

[Pharlap]

Sinclair offered Kerry the opportunity to appear on the show. That aside, where does Consumers Union stand on the Rather forged documents; Koppel's use of Viet Cong in opposition to the American vets of the Vietnam War; and the Sundance Network broadcasting Al Franken's Air America Show.

[The_Victor]

the vast majority of Americans aware of the Sinclair situation believed that the opposing political viewpoint should be presented, regardless of where they stood in the political spectrum.

The opposing view is already available on the air at ABC/NBC/C^BS.

[Coop]

I agree with those polled. Both sides should be shown. But I would bet that most respondents have no idea that Sinclair has invited Kerry to participate from the get-go.

[Future Useless Eater]

SILLY POLL...

I believe Sinclair WILL let Kerry respond.

[Brilliant]

Why didn't Michael Moore show both sides, and where was the Consumer Union then?

[FairOpinion]

Did they ask Dan Rather to show both sides, when he presented the fake Bush records?

Did they ask Ted Koppel to show both sides, when they did three shows about interviewing VietKong, but not the SwiftVets about what happened when Kerry was there?

[Last Dakotan]

I dropped my subscription to Consumer Reports years ago. While their testing of products is great I couldn't take the liberal editorializing that came with the magazine.

I'm guessing there must be a lot of tension at CU between the normally conservative engineers and the very left of center management.

[isthisnickcool]

The survey by Consumers Union, which publishes Consumer Reports and professes no political bias....

Consumers Union should be stripped of their non-rpofit status. It's a ripoff to the American taxpayer. Make them pay for 100% of the postage for their magazine and pay regular corporate taxes just like other businesses. Which is what Consumers Union is. A business that uses the American nonprofit laws to evade taxes. There are over 740,000 nonprofits in America. Many are in the business to either enrich their handlers and/or push their own political agenda.

We must reform the corporate nonprofit laws in this country. Either that or just say that no corporation pay and any taxes at all. Level the playing field.

It's a joke that an entity that has made 100's of millions of dollars like Consumers Union has and has huge amounts of cash in the bank should be considered a "charity". Please! Gimme a break!

[RedRepublic]

Jon Friedman and his bias TV channel have no shame to have come out and complain about Sinclair's business.
SeeBS have been giving all its time promoting sKerry and bashing Bush.
Shame on them.

[jjmcgo]

We're not opposed to the other side being shown. What is the other side? The benefits of Communism and how well things worked out for the Vietnamese, Laotions and Cambodians.
Show the other side. Show the killing fields. Print the list of unreturned POWs. Tell how 14,000 Americans were killed after Kerry's lying, Communist-financed testimony before Congress.

[housewife101]

If I am not mistaken, Kerry was invited to talk to these vets and refused. Seems they TRIED to get both sides, but one side refused to cooperate.

[Arkie2]

Seems everyone wants the factual, historical record of John Kerry refuted by propoganda from the DNC. Seems only fair to me! /sarcasm/

[free_life]

How much money would it take to buy out CBS?

A group of conservative business people need to buy out one of the big 3 NW's.

Everyone with a extra 10 to 100 million, please raise your hand!

For years we have been complaining about the MSM's and how socialism is creeping into our society...well the answer to the MSM bias is capitalism - buy them out and change them from within.

[bilhosty]

How hypocritical! CBS saying Sinclair should show both sides! They should follow their own advise. Sinclair by showing this program is actually helping to balance things out. But, There is a long way to go.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

I'll say that they did expose themselves.

Related item:

Sinclair: Kerry's attacks waged amid private talks

and

Sinclair's problems go beyond anti-Kerry telecast ( Business Reality about other Media companies)

and:

Shareholders Push Sinclair to Amend Plans

This is a very dangerous video for Kerry. His supporters must risk everything to keep this away from the American People.

A rogue media company is very bad news for their domination plans.

See this:

Unholy Alliance

by David Horowitz
Hardcover - (September 2004) - $27.95

In this tour de force on the most important issue of our time, David Horowitz, confronts the paradox of how so many Americans, including the leadership of the Democratic Party, could turn against the War on Terror. He finds an answer in a political Left that shares a view of America as the “Great Satan” with America’s radical Islamic enemies. In a remarkable exploration of the “Mind of the Left,” Horowitz traces the evolution of American radicalism from its Communist past to its “anti-war” present. He then shows how this Left was able to turn the Democratic Party presidential campaign around and reshape its views on the War on Terror.

[freespirited]

The survey by Consumers Union, which publishes Consumer Reports and professes no political bias

Puh-leeze don't post things like that without a "Coffee Alert" in the headline to warn us that we risk keyboard disaster if we read the item while drinking liquids.

Consumers Union has no political bias the same way that 60 minutes has no political bias.