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The Danger Of Media Consolidation: Sinclair Forces Stations To Pre-Empt Programs For Bush
NEW YORK The 62 television stations owned or managed by the Sinclair Broadcasting Group - many of them in swing states - will show within the next two weeks a documentary highly critical of Senator John Kerry's antiwar activities 30 years ago, Sinclair executives said.
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Those executives said the documentary would pre-empt regular night programming, including prime time, on its stations, which include affiliates for all six of the major broadcast networks in the swing states of Florida, Ohio, Wisconsin, Nevada and Pennsylvania.
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Those executives said the documentary would pre-empt regular night programming, including prime time, on its stations, which include affiliates for all six of the major broadcast networks in the swing states of Florida, Ohio, Wisconsin, Nevada and Pennsylvania.
Read More
http://www.iht.com/articles/542976.html
The conservative Sinclair Broadcast Group will reportedly present the film as news on the 62 local channels it owns nationwide.
The film will replace normal primetime programmes supplied by the national networks and reach up to a quarter of the electorate, many in critical battleground states, about a week before the election on November 2.
...
Democrats will file a legal complaint today with the federal election commission arguing the broadcast represents an illegal campaign contribution. Democratic senators have also said they will appeal to the federal communications commission (FCC), to investigate the transmission of what they describe as free political advertising.
The FCC is chaired by Michael Powell, the son of the secretary of state, Colin Powell.
Under US broadcasting rules, the film actually gives airtime to Mr Kerry. Andrew Jay Schwartzman, who heads the Media Access Project watchdog, said: "The way our equal time law works depends on what candidate is appearing on the air - so the equal time rule would run to Bush, not to Kerry. It does not provide Kerry a right to reply."
"What this shows is the dangers of media concentration. These are the problems that arise when one company controls 62 channels."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections2004/story/0,13918,1325120,00.html
Sinclair executives have given thousands to the Bush campaign, and the company refused to air the April 30 "Nightline" episode in which hundreds of names of American troops killed in Iraq were read by ABC anchor Ted Koppel.
Democratic FCC commissioner Michael Copps called Sinclair's decision "an abuse of the public trust."
"It is proof positive of media consolidation run amok when one owner can use the public airwaves to blanket the country with its political ideology -- whether liberal or conservative," he said. "This is the same corporation that refused to air "Nightline's" reading of our war dead in Iraq. It is the same corporation that short shrifts local communities and local jobs by distance-casting news and weather from hundreds of miles away."
http://209.11.49.186/thr/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000663963
The owner of the largest chain of television stations in the United States has agreed to have its affiliates air a film critical of Democratic presidential nominee John F. Kerry produced by the conservative 527 group Swift Boat Veterans For Truth less than two weeks before the November 2 presidential election.
Sinclair Broadcast Group, whose 62 stations cover nearly one-fourth of all American households, has asked its stations to air the 42-minute documentary entitled "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal" commercial-free the week of October 21-24.
http://www.gopusa.com/news/2004/october/1012_sinclair_kerry_film.shtml
A cursory look at Sinclair's recent record shows which side the broadcasting company is on. This is the same Sinclair Broadcasting Group who last April cried wolf over an attempt to "influence public opinion" by forbidding its seven ABC affiliates from airing a Nightline special devoted to the soldiers killed in Iraq.
The same Sinclair who gave $66,000 to the Republican Party in 2004.
The same Sinclair who required weather men to read a statement supporting President Bush's war on terror in 2001.
The same Sinclair who prevented a Madison, Wisconsin Fox affiliate from airing an advertisement by the Democratic National Committee last July.
The same Sinclair who today forces local stations against their will to run a daily "commentary" segment by its corporate spokesman which calls the French "cheese eating surrender monkeys," and antiwar Congressman "unpatriotic politicians who hate our military."
You get the picture. Can you imagine the response from the right if CBS pre-empted local programming in late October to show Fahrenheit 9/11?
George W. Bush can't win this election based on ideas. So Karl Rove and his corporate media cronies concoct lies and distortions about Kerry's past. David Brock of Media Matters for America has sent a letter to Sinclair CEO David Smith urging him to scrap its plans. Email Smith (dsmith [at] sbgnet.com) yourself and sign the petition to be delivered to Sinclair and the FCC on October 15.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/10/11/opinion/main648665.shtml
http://www.iht.com/articles/542976.html
The conservative Sinclair Broadcast Group will reportedly present the film as news on the 62 local channels it owns nationwide.
The film will replace normal primetime programmes supplied by the national networks and reach up to a quarter of the electorate, many in critical battleground states, about a week before the election on November 2.
...
Democrats will file a legal complaint today with the federal election commission arguing the broadcast represents an illegal campaign contribution. Democratic senators have also said they will appeal to the federal communications commission (FCC), to investigate the transmission of what they describe as free political advertising.
The FCC is chaired by Michael Powell, the son of the secretary of state, Colin Powell.
Under US broadcasting rules, the film actually gives airtime to Mr Kerry. Andrew Jay Schwartzman, who heads the Media Access Project watchdog, said: "The way our equal time law works depends on what candidate is appearing on the air - so the equal time rule would run to Bush, not to Kerry. It does not provide Kerry a right to reply."
"What this shows is the dangers of media concentration. These are the problems that arise when one company controls 62 channels."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections2004/story/0,13918,1325120,00.html
Sinclair executives have given thousands to the Bush campaign, and the company refused to air the April 30 "Nightline" episode in which hundreds of names of American troops killed in Iraq were read by ABC anchor Ted Koppel.
Democratic FCC commissioner Michael Copps called Sinclair's decision "an abuse of the public trust."
"It is proof positive of media consolidation run amok when one owner can use the public airwaves to blanket the country with its political ideology -- whether liberal or conservative," he said. "This is the same corporation that refused to air "Nightline's" reading of our war dead in Iraq. It is the same corporation that short shrifts local communities and local jobs by distance-casting news and weather from hundreds of miles away."
http://209.11.49.186/thr/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000663963
The owner of the largest chain of television stations in the United States has agreed to have its affiliates air a film critical of Democratic presidential nominee John F. Kerry produced by the conservative 527 group Swift Boat Veterans For Truth less than two weeks before the November 2 presidential election.
Sinclair Broadcast Group, whose 62 stations cover nearly one-fourth of all American households, has asked its stations to air the 42-minute documentary entitled "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal" commercial-free the week of October 21-24.
http://www.gopusa.com/news/2004/october/1012_sinclair_kerry_film.shtml
A cursory look at Sinclair's recent record shows which side the broadcasting company is on. This is the same Sinclair Broadcasting Group who last April cried wolf over an attempt to "influence public opinion" by forbidding its seven ABC affiliates from airing a Nightline special devoted to the soldiers killed in Iraq.
The same Sinclair who gave $66,000 to the Republican Party in 2004.
The same Sinclair who required weather men to read a statement supporting President Bush's war on terror in 2001.
The same Sinclair who prevented a Madison, Wisconsin Fox affiliate from airing an advertisement by the Democratic National Committee last July.
The same Sinclair who today forces local stations against their will to run a daily "commentary" segment by its corporate spokesman which calls the French "cheese eating surrender monkeys," and antiwar Congressman "unpatriotic politicians who hate our military."
You get the picture. Can you imagine the response from the right if CBS pre-empted local programming in late October to show Fahrenheit 9/11?
George W. Bush can't win this election based on ideas. So Karl Rove and his corporate media cronies concoct lies and distortions about Kerry's past. David Brock of Media Matters for America has sent a letter to Sinclair CEO David Smith urging him to scrap its plans. Email Smith (dsmith [at] sbgnet.com) yourself and sign the petition to be delivered to Sinclair and the FCC on October 15.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/10/11/opinion/main648665.shtml
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Sinclair media is planning to run an hour long attack ad on John Kerry. It will be broadcast to 25 percent of the nations homes. The word is they will claim it is news to avoid FCC reprisal. Some people are suggesting that a boycott be started against Sinclair.
Boycotting the media is a nice idea in theory, but people don't like to boycott what they're addicted to, and the media won't admit they're being hurt by such a boycott. There's a better way to hit them and pressure them.
Don't Boycott Sinclair. It's too tough to make an impression and takes too long to get a read on whether it had an effect. The most powerful way to get to the most vulnerable underbelly of the media is to hurt them financially-- by going to their advertisers and investors. If the stock value drops and/or if the profits drop, they will feel it, and they are more likely to respond to just the risk of such an approach.
You can put pressure on Sinclair through the stockholders by contacting the primary stockholders and threatening to dump the mutual funds that hold the largest amount of stock in Sinclair. Here's a link that lists them http://finance.yahoo.com/q/mh?s=SBGI The DailyKos is also working this angle at http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/10/11/18560/484
Already, Sinclair (SBGI) is at a one year low.
...
On the far right, hundreds of millions of dollars a year are spent on think tanks that work to strategize how to take America from the left. A media thinktank for the left should be funded with at least $20 million a year. It would be able to coordinate resources of the groups mentioned above, and could begin to systematically track and monitor the major media-- every show, every anchor and newscaster. The best could be rewarded with encouragement and support of advertisers, endorsements for investment. The worst would be identified as targets so we could boycott their sponsors.
Read More
http://www.opednews.com/kall_101204_sinclair.htm
Boycotting the media is a nice idea in theory, but people don't like to boycott what they're addicted to, and the media won't admit they're being hurt by such a boycott. There's a better way to hit them and pressure them.
Don't Boycott Sinclair. It's too tough to make an impression and takes too long to get a read on whether it had an effect. The most powerful way to get to the most vulnerable underbelly of the media is to hurt them financially-- by going to their advertisers and investors. If the stock value drops and/or if the profits drop, they will feel it, and they are more likely to respond to just the risk of such an approach.
You can put pressure on Sinclair through the stockholders by contacting the primary stockholders and threatening to dump the mutual funds that hold the largest amount of stock in Sinclair. Here's a link that lists them http://finance.yahoo.com/q/mh?s=SBGI The DailyKos is also working this angle at http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/10/11/18560/484
Already, Sinclair (SBGI) is at a one year low.
...
On the far right, hundreds of millions of dollars a year are spent on think tanks that work to strategize how to take America from the left. A media thinktank for the left should be funded with at least $20 million a year. It would be able to coordinate resources of the groups mentioned above, and could begin to systematically track and monitor the major media-- every show, every anchor and newscaster. The best could be rewarded with encouragement and support of advertisers, endorsements for investment. The worst would be identified as targets so we could boycott their sponsors.
Read More
http://www.opednews.com/kall_101204_sinclair.htm
Sinclair Broadcasting Group is no stranger to controversy and it could be argued that they enjoy the added attention. In the past the executives of this large media group that owns television stations across the nation have been responsible for a number of questionable moves that favor the Bush administration and the president's reelection.
This week they announced plans to air an anti-Kerry documentary in prime time, without commercial interruption. There is absolutely no defense of this action as it is clearly a biased move designed to denigrate Bush's opponent right before the election.
Bush supporters are shrugging off the move by Sinclair Broadcast while trying their best to keep a straight face. However if the tables were turned and Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 were to air on the public airwaves, the outcry from the Bush supporters would be immense. To them, fairness only applies when it supports your point of view.
Sinclair is excusing the broadcast as news event regarding "the topic of Americans held as prisoners of war in Vietnam." Even if a reasonably minded person fails to look at the contribution history of the company's executives which included maxed out contributions to George Bush along with lump sums as large as $25,000 give to the Republican Party, one would see the move for what it is, a partisan plan and a clear contribution to the Bush campaign.
While presenting political opinion is a right that we all have, using the power of the media to influence an election under the guise of news goes beyond the bounds of responsible media ownership. The biased move transforms public airwaves into a propaganda tool that although common in Russia, is not aligned with the values of America.
http://www.washingtondispatch.com/spectrum/archives/000646.html
This week they announced plans to air an anti-Kerry documentary in prime time, without commercial interruption. There is absolutely no defense of this action as it is clearly a biased move designed to denigrate Bush's opponent right before the election.
Bush supporters are shrugging off the move by Sinclair Broadcast while trying their best to keep a straight face. However if the tables were turned and Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 were to air on the public airwaves, the outcry from the Bush supporters would be immense. To them, fairness only applies when it supports your point of view.
Sinclair is excusing the broadcast as news event regarding "the topic of Americans held as prisoners of war in Vietnam." Even if a reasonably minded person fails to look at the contribution history of the company's executives which included maxed out contributions to George Bush along with lump sums as large as $25,000 give to the Republican Party, one would see the move for what it is, a partisan plan and a clear contribution to the Bush campaign.
While presenting political opinion is a right that we all have, using the power of the media to influence an election under the guise of news goes beyond the bounds of responsible media ownership. The biased move transforms public airwaves into a propaganda tool that although common in Russia, is not aligned with the values of America.
http://www.washingtondispatch.com/spectrum/archives/000646.html
(CNSNews.com) - Federal Communications Commissioner (FCC) Michael J. Copps released a statement Tuesday criticizing the Sinclair Broadcast Group for its decision to air what he sees as a blatantly political program in the days before the election, calling it an "abuse of public trust."
Regular programming on 60 local stations nationwide owned will be preempted for the airing of Carlton Sherwood's "Stolen Honor: Wounds that Never Heal," an anti-John Kerry documentary about American POWs in Vietnam.
"This is the same corporation that refused to air Nightline's reading of our war dead in Iraq," Copps said.
"It is a sad fact that the explicit public interest protections we once had to ensure balance continue to be weakened by the Federal Communication Commission while it allows media conglomerates to get even bigger. Sinclair, and the FCC, are taking us down a dangerous path," he added.
Copps' criticism follows similar complaints by the Democratic National Committee, alleging that the Sinclair Broadcasting Group is run by big contributors to the Bush-Cheney campaign. The DNC announced plans Monday to file a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission against the Sinclair Broadcasting Group.
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=%5CCulture%5Carchive%5C200410%5CCUL20041012b.html
Regular programming on 60 local stations nationwide owned will be preempted for the airing of Carlton Sherwood's "Stolen Honor: Wounds that Never Heal," an anti-John Kerry documentary about American POWs in Vietnam.
"This is the same corporation that refused to air Nightline's reading of our war dead in Iraq," Copps said.
"It is a sad fact that the explicit public interest protections we once had to ensure balance continue to be weakened by the Federal Communication Commission while it allows media conglomerates to get even bigger. Sinclair, and the FCC, are taking us down a dangerous path," he added.
Copps' criticism follows similar complaints by the Democratic National Committee, alleging that the Sinclair Broadcasting Group is run by big contributors to the Bush-Cheney campaign. The DNC announced plans Monday to file a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission against the Sinclair Broadcasting Group.
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=%5CCulture%5Carchive%5C200410%5CCUL20041012b.html
Why is it important that Sinclair Broadcasting be urged in all lawful ways that can be imagined to reconsider its decision to broadcast on its television stations the anti-Kerry "documentary"?
Because in a large, pluralistic information society democracy will not work unless electronic media distribute reasonably accurate information and also competing opinions about political candidates to the entire population. Certainly, for the overwhelming number of voters this year, controlling impressions of the candidates for president are obtained from television.
In all countries, candidates for public office aspire to have favorable information and a chorus of favorable opinion disseminated through mass media to the citizenry. In a democracy, on the eve of a quadrennial election, the incumbent government plainly has a motive to encourage the media to report positively on its record but also negatively on the rival. But its role instead is to make sure that broadcast television promote democracy by conveying reasonably accurate reflections of where the candidates stand and what they are like.
To that end, since television was invented, Congress and its delegated agency, the Federal Communications Commision, together have passed laws and regulations to ensure that broadcast television stations provide reasonably accurate, balanced and fair coverage of major presidential and congressional candidates. These obligations are reflected in specific provisions relating to rights to buy advertising time, bans against the gift of advertising time, rights to reply to opponents, and various other specific means of accomplishing the goal of balance and fairness. The various rules are part of a tradition well known to broadcasters and honored by almost all of them. This tradition is embodied in the commitment of the broadcasters to show the conventions and the debates.
Part of this tradition is that broadcasters do not show propaganda for any candidate, no matter how much a station owner may personally favor one or dislike the other.
http://www.startribune.com/stories/1519/5029511.html
Because in a large, pluralistic information society democracy will not work unless electronic media distribute reasonably accurate information and also competing opinions about political candidates to the entire population. Certainly, for the overwhelming number of voters this year, controlling impressions of the candidates for president are obtained from television.
In all countries, candidates for public office aspire to have favorable information and a chorus of favorable opinion disseminated through mass media to the citizenry. In a democracy, on the eve of a quadrennial election, the incumbent government plainly has a motive to encourage the media to report positively on its record but also negatively on the rival. But its role instead is to make sure that broadcast television promote democracy by conveying reasonably accurate reflections of where the candidates stand and what they are like.
To that end, since television was invented, Congress and its delegated agency, the Federal Communications Commision, together have passed laws and regulations to ensure that broadcast television stations provide reasonably accurate, balanced and fair coverage of major presidential and congressional candidates. These obligations are reflected in specific provisions relating to rights to buy advertising time, bans against the gift of advertising time, rights to reply to opponents, and various other specific means of accomplishing the goal of balance and fairness. The various rules are part of a tradition well known to broadcasters and honored by almost all of them. This tradition is embodied in the commitment of the broadcasters to show the conventions and the debates.
Part of this tradition is that broadcasters do not show propaganda for any candidate, no matter how much a station owner may personally favor one or dislike the other.
http://www.startribune.com/stories/1519/5029511.html
If we ever needed a sign of the costs of media consolidation and a White House that knows no bounds, the current spectacle of right-wing Sinclair Broadcasting ordering its local stations to run an hour-long, unpaid anti-Kerry infomercial just days before the election should put the matter beyond question.
As you probably know by now, Sinclair Broadcasting owns 62 local television stations across the country. They include local affiliates of each of the six major broadcast networks — ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, UPN and WB. Earlier this year, Sinclair raised controversy by ordering its local affiliates not to air an edition of “Nightline” that named all the American soldiers who had thus far been killed in Iraq.
A statement from Sinclair justified the action by claiming that “Mr. Koppel and ‘Nightline’ are hiding behind this so-called tribute in an effort to highlight only one aspect of the war effort and in doing so to influence public opinion against the military action in Iraq.”
But Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) disagreed. He called the decision “unpatriotic” and told Sinclair President David Smith that “your decision to deny your viewers an opportunity to be reminded of war’s terrible costs, in all their heartbreaking detail, is a gross disservice to the public, and to the men and women of the United States Armed Forces.”
Then this weekend, Sinclair was at it again. The broadcasting group announced that it would order all 62 stations to pre-empt prime-time broadcasts to air an anti-Kerry documentary titled “Stolen Honor,” which attacks Kerry’s time as a war protester in the early 1970s.
Most people who’ve heard about the Sinclair stunt realize that this amounts to a massive in-kind contribution to the Bush-Cheney campaign by Sinclair. It’s like an hour-long, unpaid Swift boat ad plunked right down in the middle of prime time on stations in swing states around the country.
But look a little closer.
It isn’t like a Swift boat ad. It actually is a Swift boat ad.
http://www.thehill.com/marshall/101304.aspx
As you probably know by now, Sinclair Broadcasting owns 62 local television stations across the country. They include local affiliates of each of the six major broadcast networks — ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, UPN and WB. Earlier this year, Sinclair raised controversy by ordering its local affiliates not to air an edition of “Nightline” that named all the American soldiers who had thus far been killed in Iraq.
A statement from Sinclair justified the action by claiming that “Mr. Koppel and ‘Nightline’ are hiding behind this so-called tribute in an effort to highlight only one aspect of the war effort and in doing so to influence public opinion against the military action in Iraq.”
But Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) disagreed. He called the decision “unpatriotic” and told Sinclair President David Smith that “your decision to deny your viewers an opportunity to be reminded of war’s terrible costs, in all their heartbreaking detail, is a gross disservice to the public, and to the men and women of the United States Armed Forces.”
Then this weekend, Sinclair was at it again. The broadcasting group announced that it would order all 62 stations to pre-empt prime-time broadcasts to air an anti-Kerry documentary titled “Stolen Honor,” which attacks Kerry’s time as a war protester in the early 1970s.
Most people who’ve heard about the Sinclair stunt realize that this amounts to a massive in-kind contribution to the Bush-Cheney campaign by Sinclair. It’s like an hour-long, unpaid Swift boat ad plunked right down in the middle of prime time on stations in swing states around the country.
But look a little closer.
It isn’t like a Swift boat ad. It actually is a Swift boat ad.
http://www.thehill.com/marshall/101304.aspx
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