Posted on 10/19/2004 5:36:20 AM PDT by Mich0127
If David D. Smith, the CEO of Sinclair Broadcasting, knows what's good for him, he'll forget about airing a documentary critical of Democratic presidential contender Sen. John Kerry.
At least that's what the New York Times appears to be saying in its Monday article.
The Times openly acknowledges the impact this film could have: "Senator John Kerry could find his presidential hopes damaged this week when the 62 television stations owned or managed by the Sinclair Broadcasting Group carry a documentary about his antiwar activities 30 years ago."
The Times is clearly worried that Smith, head of the nation's largest owner of television stations, has already informed his 62 affiliates to pre-empt their regular programming and instead air the controversial "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal."
In "Stolen Honor" 17 former POWs charge that Kerry's anti-war activities were a betrayal that prolonged the war.
Sinclair executives have defended the decision to broadcast the film because, they say, it is a vital and newsworthy project that should be presented to voters before the election.
While the Times admits the film could hurt Kerry's White House chances, especially in key swing states that are vital to his bid, the paper also claims airing the program could hurt Sinclair as much, if not more.
The paper says local advertisers in Portland, Maine, Madison, Wis., Springfield, Ill., and Minneapolis, Minn. – not exactly bastions of conservatism – have pulled their ads from the local Sinclair-owned affiliates.
"I've decided I don't want to advertise on them," Adam Lee, the president of Lee Auto Malls, which owns 10 auto dealerships in Portland, Maine, told the Times. "It's a public trust. It seems they're abusing it. If it were a news show and they were really trying to do a fair and balanced story on both sides, that would be a different matter. I don't think they are. That's not their intention."
And that's the extent of the paper's examples. There are no other quotes from other businesses or advertisers who claim they are pulling ads, though the Times alleged "car dealers, furniture makers, supermarkets and restaurants" were among the disenfranchised advertisers.
Liberal Groups Join to Hurt Sinclair
There's more. The Times admits that a number of left-leaning groups – including Common Cause, the Alliance for Better Campaigns, Media Access Project, Media for Democracy and the Office of Communication of the United Church of Christ – are compiling a list of Sinclair advertisers, with plans to urge them to drop their advertising as well.
"The public airwaves should not be used by television executives to promote their partisan political agenda," Common Cause President Chellie Pingree told reporters in a telephone press conference. "This action crosses a line."
Besides contacting Sinclair advertisers, which include Wal-Mart, Applebee's, Domino's Pizza, Lowe's, Papa John's and Best Buy, these groups also are looking to give Sinclair problems when it seeks to renew each individual station's broadcast license.
It's not about getting those licenses revoked, however – it's about employing a typical left-wing legal tactic: "Such challenges almost never result in lost licenses, but they often result in heavy legal costs for the station having to defend them," said the Times.
Other media are piling on the bandwagon, predicting that Sinclair will suffer mightily for its decision.
CNN/Money reported Monday that Sinclair's decision "has stirred up considerable political controversy, but the planned program may also cause some pain for Sinclair's business."
The newswire says Sinclair will lose out on about $430,000 in revenue if it decides to forgo advertising altogether and pre-empt the entire 90-minute slot with the program.
"That's not quite pocket change, but it won't put a big dent in Sinclair's revenue. The company last year posted a net profit of $24 million on sales of $739 million," CNN/Money reported.
Fair and Balanced
For its part, Sinclair believes it is approaching the issue in the fairest way it can.
The network, on its Web site, has invited viewers to comment on the appropriateness of showing the documentary.
The network has also repeatedly invited Kerry to appear as a guest on the special – in fact, he's the only one who's been asked to appear. So far, however, he's declined.
Executives are also quick to point out that the production of "Stolen Honor" hasn't even been completed yet.
"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," says an announcement on the network's Web site.
The Times article did not address why CBS continues to have anti-Bush newsman Dan Rather anchor its nightly news program.
the only bad thing is that I gotta sell some oil stock (THX) to get the cash for SBGI -
Gee .. that sure sounds like a threat to me
And I dare them to silence the POW's ... I have a feeling it won't sit well with A LOT of folks
General Mills will get my business
Brilliant idea.........pass it along to Sinclair, please!
Dom G. announced last night the viewing of the movie has been canceled due to pending lawsuits on the theater if they air it
Anyone have a good, internal email address for Sinclair? I would very much like to send them my idea, but I'm afraid it will get lost in all of the noise that is surely being received via their general email address.
If anyone has a good internal email address, please FReepmail me directly.
Tnx!
General Mills has a great list of products from Cheerios to their great Progressive Soups.
Anyone have a good, internal email address for Sinclair? I would very much like to send them my idea, but I'm afraid it will get lost in all of the noise that is surely being received via their general email address.
If anyone has a good internal email address, please FReepmail me directly.
Thanks. I'm really angry. I had to get over to the theater twice, taking time off from work, to get my tickets. And I talked my democrat husband into going with me. We planned our day around this event. The Big Talker needs to update their website. If it hadn't have been for FR, we would have shown up over there tonight.
The link below will take you and others to the list of advertisers for the upcoming Sinclair program:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1242109/posts?page=1#1
Applebee’s International, Inc. (913) 967-4000 (913) 967-2718 http://www.applebees.com/ Carol DiRaimo, ca.diraimo@applebees.com
Arby's 1-800-487-2729
Best Buy 1-888-BEST BUY 612-292-4000 612-291-1000
Betty Crocker 1-800-446-1898
Brinker International (972) 980-9917 http://www.brinker.com/ investor.relations@brinker.com
Chili's Grill and Bar 515-226-1744 1-800-983-4637 http://www.chilis.com/
Circuit City 800-843-2489
Consolidated Credit Counseling Services, Inc. 1-800-320-9929 http://www.consolidatedcredit.org
Discount Tire (888) 774-6560 800-589-6789 http://www.discounttire.com/dtc/brochure/contact/contactUs.jsp
Dodge 1-800-992-1997
Domino's Pizza 734-930-3030 http://www.dominos.com/
Dunkin' Donuts 781-961-4020 http://dunkindonuts.com
Educate, Inc. (Sylvan) (410) 843-8000 fx?410 843-6145 http://www.educate-inc.com
ESL Federal Credit Union (800) 848-2265 (585) 336-1000 http://www.esl.org/
Fazoli's 1-859-268-1668 http://www.fazolis.com/
GMC 1-800-462-8782
Great Earth Vitamins 1-800-284-8243 http://www.greatearth.com
Irondequoit Suzuki 585-338-2900
ITT Tech (805) 520-7200 http://www.itt-tech.edu
JC Penney http://www.jcpenney.com
Jim Barkley Toyota 828-667-8888 www.jimbarkleytoyota.com Johnson & Johnson 732-524-0400
Long John Silvers (502) 874-8200 http://www.ljsilvers.com/
Mile One Automotive 866-645-3663 http://www.mileone.com info@mileone.com
NetZero 1-888-349-0029
Nissan North America 310-771-3111 http://nissanusa.com
Papa John's 1-502-261-7272t http://www.papajohns.com/
Patties Panties (493)555-1293 http://www.pattyspanties.com
Pepsi-Co. boardofdirectors@pepsi.com
Pfizer, Inc. (212) 573-2323 fx: 212 5737851 http://www.pfizer.com mckinnell@pfizer.com
Procter & Gamble 513-983-1100 http://www.pg.com/
Progressive Auto Insurance 1-800-776-4737 440-395-1076 386-947-5158 http://www.progressive.com/
Red Bull North America 781-961-4020 http://redbull.com
Rentway, Inc. 1-800-RENTWAY 814-455-5378 http://www.rentway.com
SC Johnson Scrubbing Bubbles 1-800-494-4855 262-260-3709 262-260-4402
Select Comfort Corp. 763-551-7000 http://www.selectcomfort.com
Skyland Automotive 828-667-5213 http://www.skylandautomotive.com/
Sonic (405) 225-5000 (816) 842-1500 http://www.sonicdrivein.com/business/newsroom/mediaContacts.jsp sonicpr@sonicdrivein.com
Subway (203) 877-4281 (800) 888-4848 http://www.subway.com/subwayroot/Applications/CustServ/frmCustomerService.aspx
Taco Bell/Yum! Brands Inc 502 874-2543 1-800-tacobell http://www.yum.com Amy.Sherwood@Yum.Com
Time Domain Inc. 888-826-8378 (Sinclair owns equity stake) http://www.timedomain.com/index2.html
Time Warner Road Runner of Rochester 585-756-1608 http://www.twrochester.com/contact.cfm
Toyota Consumer Relations 800-331-4331 #3 http://www.toyota.com
Tri-Star Health Systems/HCA Mid-America 615-886-5000 615-886-4902 http://www.tristarhealth.com/ cheryl.chubbs@hcahealthcare.com
Tyson Foods 479 290-4000 http://www.tyson.com
Victoria's Secret 1.800.411.5116 937.438.4200 http://www.tyson.com
Whataburger 361-878-0650
Send these url's to your e-mail lists and media contacts.
Media contacts in all 50 States
http://congress.org/congressorg/dbq/media/
Click Here for
the Stolen Honor documentary clips that Kerry
and the Democrats do not want YOU to see.
http://www.stolenhonor.com/documentary/samples.asp
Click Here for
Stolen Honor Now Available for On-Line Viewing
Only $4.99
http://www.stolenhonor.com/documentary/pay-per-view.asp
Click Here to
Buy Stolen Honor on DVD/VHS Video
Only $19.99
http://www.customflix.com/206157
Click Here for
List of Sinclair Stations Nationwide
http://sbgweb2.sbgnet.com/business/television.shtml
Click Here for
The Final 2 Swift Boat Vets Ads!
And All of the rest!
http://www2.swiftvets.com/index.php?topic=Ads
John F. Kerry
Timeline of a traitor.
Click Here
http://www.archive-news.net/Kerry/JK_timeline.html
Free online version of
Kerry's "The New Soldier"
You can read it online right now.
http://ejsmithweb.com/fr/newsoldier/
CLICK HERE for Video
NY Times and the Old Media
Wrong about WW II, Wrong about Iraq
In fact Wrong about every USA War!
http://www.moveamericaforward.org/Video/MAF-1-HI.wmv
Media bias ping.
I think Rush Limbaugh, Michael reagan, and other big name conservatives should buy big ad spots on the Sinclair stations. This would not only make up for lost revenues, but also help advance conservative messages in these lefty areas.
I heard it (the movie) was available on Pay-per -View
BTTT!!!!!!!
Sinclair offered Kerry time after the broadcast for rebuttal.
Kerry refused.
"Fair and balanced" obligation has ben met.
The folks at Sinclair have had to deal with worse and have always come out unscathed. If you know anyone who has worked for them in the last 10 years they will have a ton of great stories!
The sheep masses will swallow this whole and consider Sinclair as biased against Kerry, whether he refused equal time or not. They listen to their hearts, not their heads. And since their hearts do not rule their heads, their votes are secure. Stupid people.
Baseless scare tactics. It's legal what he is doing and I suggest people send letters and emails ENCOURAGING the advertisers to continue to support his network.
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