7 ABC affiliates ordered not to air 'Nightline'

[bif]

(CNN) -- Sinclair Broadcast
Group has ordered its seven
ABC stations not to broadcast
Friday's "Nightline" that will air
the names and photographs of
the more than 500 U.S. troops
killed in the Iraq war.

In a statement online, the Sinclair group
said the "Nightline" program "appears to
be motivated by a political agenda
designed to undermine the efforts of the
United States in Iraq."

Sinclair's decision, announced Thursday,
drew angry calls from the public and a
sharp response from ABC News.

"We respectfully disagree with Sinclair's
decision to pre-empt 'Nightline's' tribute
to America's fallen soldiers," ABC News
said in a statement. "The 'Nightline'
broadcast is an expression of respect
which simply seeks to honor those who
have laid down their lives for this
country."

More: http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/TV/04/29/abc.nightline/index.html

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. This is the moveon action on this

Dear MoveOn member,

Tonight, ABC's Nightline is doing something beautiful and courageous.
The entire show will consist of a reading of the names of each soldier
who has fallen in Iraq, while his or her photograph shows on the
screen.

But ABC affiliate stations around the country will be prohibited from
airing the special. That's because they're owned by Sinclair
Broadcasting Group, a company whose executives have given tens of
thousands to Republicans and whose right-wing allies tout it as "the
next Fox." <1>

In a statement released earlier this week, the company said that to
honor the men and women who died in this way would be a political act
that is "contrary to the public interest." Censoring images of the
fallen serves the right-wing ideologues who pushed the war in Iraq,
but it certainly doesn't serve our country to hide those who were
killed.

In order to highlight this censorship and let other media outlets know
that it's not OK, we're asking you to write a letter to the editor of
your local paper. It doesn't actually take very long -- you can do it
in ten minutes or less.

We've added some tips and talking points below. Once you've written,
please let us know at:

http://www.moveon.org/sinclair.html?id=2761-1830478-DL12VJdBy7Hp5SZKjedXpg

Military families have called on Sinclair to air the special tonight.
Jane Bright of Military Families Speak Out is the mother of Sgt. Evan
Ashcraft, who died July 24, 2003, near Mosul, Iraq. She said: "The
Sinclair Broadcast Group is trying to undermine the lives of our
soldiers killed in Iraq. By censoring Nightline they want to hide the
toll the war on Iraq is having on thousands of soldiers and their
families, like mine." <2>

According to ABC News, "The Nightline broadcast is an expression of
respect which simply seeks to honor those who have laid down their
lives for this country."

Yet Sinclair refuses to distinguish between public mourning and a
statement against the war: "Despite the denials by a spokeswoman for
the show the action appears to be motivated by a political agenda
designed to undermine the efforts of the United States in Iraq." <3>

Take a few minutes to write a letter to the editor to make sure the
word gets out. Tips and talking points are below.

Nightline is also certain to get lots of nasty right-wing hate mail
about this broadcast. Show them the overwhelming support for this sort
of recognition of the young men and women killed in Iraq with a quick
note at:

http://www.moveon.org/r?494

Finally, you can call on Sinclair to honor our troops and run the
Nightline special at:

David D. Smith, CEO
Sinclair Broadcast Group
[phone] x1504

After you take action, let us know at:

http://www.moveon.org/sinclair.html?id=2761-1830478-DL12VJdBy7Hp5SZKjedXpg

Then tune in to ABC tonight to see Nightline's special tribute to our
lost servicemen and women.

Sincerely,
- Carrie, Joan, Noah, Peter, and Wes
The MoveOn.org Team
Friday, April 30th, 2004

Sources:
<1> http://freepress.net/news/article.php?id=3334
<2> http://www.mfso.org/
<3> http://poynter.org/forum/?id=misc

---

RESOURCES FOR LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

I. Tips

II. Talking Points

I. Tips on how to get your letter published:

- Your own words, written from the heart, are always best.

- Brevity is the soul of wit.

- The key to publication is to pounce on something specific you've
seen in the newspaper -- anything that seems related to you.

- Be sure to include your name and address, and especially your
phone
number when submitting your letter. Editors need to call you to
verify authorship before they can print your letter. They don't
print your phone number.

- Your newspaper's letters page should give you an email address or
fax number to use, or you can try this website:

http://congress.org/congressorg/dbq/media/

- Please let us know when you've sent your letter by going to:

http://www.moveon.org/sinclair.html?id=2761-1830478-DL12VJdBy7Hp5SZKjedXpg


II. Talking points

* According to the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics,
Sinclair executives gave $136,000 to Republicans and the Bush
administration since 2000. It's clear that their partisan bias is
outweighing their responsibility to the public.

* Sinclair is essentially saying that any public recognition of the
fallen soldiers is a political act against the war in Iraq. That
trivializes the sacrifices these men and women made for us. Honoring
the dead is not a partisan act.

* In a news environment often focused on celebrity and pop culture,
Nightline's willingness to take time out of their usual schedule to
pay tribute to the dead is a great service. Civic-minded journalism
like this should be encouraged, not censored.

________________
This is a message from MoveOn.org. To remove yourself (nadin abbott)
from this list, please visit our subscription management page at:
http://moveon.org/s?i=2761-1830478-DL12VJdBy7Hp5SZKjedXpg

[Misunderestimator]

3. You beat me to it! I just sent an email of support to Nightline n/t

[Delano]

5. Sinclair's phone line is constantly busy.

Looks like more than a few of us are on the ball.

[rocktivity]

2. Whose political agenda is it, anyway?

...the Sinclair group said the "Nightline" program "appears to be motivated by a political agenda designed to undermine the efforts of the United States in Iraq."

And Sinclair's refusal to broadcast the program ISN'T "motivated by a political agenda"?

:headbang:
rocknation

[TahitiNut]

9. 98% of Sinclair's 2000 political contributions were to Republicans

Guess whose agenda is political?

[Delano]

4. Wow. Wow. Wow.

I always thought that when a dictatorship came to being, it would be through the edict of a power-mad state. But it seems that so many of us want a fascist state that they are voluntarily trying to bring it about.

What a disgusting company.

[Beetwasher]

6. Awesome! This Will Give it One Hell of a PR KICK!!

couldn't have asked for a better reaction. Throw a little censorship into the mix and VOILA! An even bigger controversy! A Hearty Thanks to the morons at Sinclair!!! Ha Ha!

[Dirty Hippie]

7. I guess it is time to tear down the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial

Honoring our soldiers will no longer be allowed.

[bif]

8. The police state has arrived!

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

10. Did Sinclair decline to use George Bush's campaign ads with 9/11 coffins

in them?

[Moderator]

11. Story reported yesterday, please discuss here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=518235