Free Republic

During a week when Iraqi war coverage has dominated the cable news shows and led the networks' evening news programs, newsman Ted Koppel said he thinks Americans need to be 'reminded' of what is going on in Iraq. In a Friday morning interview, Koppel said that's why he plans to read the names of more than 700 American troops killed in Iraq on Friday night's "Nightline." Not all ABC affiliates will air tonight's "Nightline," however. Baltimore-based Sinclair Broadcasting is pre-empting the live "Nightline" program on its ABC affiliates, saying, "We find it offensive that Ted Koppel is trivializing the deaths...

Sinclair Stations to Boycott 'Nightline' Tribute LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A major television chain, the Sinclair Broadcast Group, will bar its ABC-affiliated stations from airing a planned "Nightline" tribute to fallen U.S. troops in Iraq (news - web sites), saying the program is a political statement disguised as news. ABC News plans to devote Friday's entire "Nightline" segment to the tribute, with anchor Ted Koppel reading aloud the names of hundreds of fallen American servicemen and women as their photographs are shown. The network's intentions drew a denunciation from Sinclair, a Baltimore-based owner of 62 television stations in 39 markets...