What if Sinclair made a deal to air Farenheit 9-11 instead?

[leftyandproud]

Just curious..

In an alternate universe, if they cut a deal with Michael Moore and aired his documentary on their stations, would you folks still consider it a 'fascist' tactic to sway the election?

Would you still be calling for the owners to be jailed/fined, and for their FCC license to be revoked?


Be honest now.

[wickywom]

1. yes they would.

[KurtNYC]

2. Won't happen

plus if it did, their advertisers would WILLING pull their ads, their stock would tank even harder and so audience input would be irrelevant.

[B Calm]

3. The right wingers would raise hell!

They do it all the time.

[Norquist Nemesis]

4. It's still 'fascist' not only because of it being biased

but because they are classifying it as 'news'. There is no way they could/would air F911 and classify it in the same category. Plus, the screams heard over MMs film have already put a 'mockumentary' label on in from the echo chamber. It wouldn't get watched.

If they showed the pro-Kerry documentary, that might be another story though.

I'm curious what the local papers are covering in their markets. So many people have their heads in the sand as it is, sadly.

[TO Kid]

9. If not "news", how to classify F/911?

Comedy or fantasy?

[Norquist Nemesis]

11. You missed my point.

Sinclair would not classify F911 as news in the first place. The public at large is aware of F911 because of the screams about it in the second place.

Showing it will not 'balance' anything and I doubt that very few people who would choose to watch it will be seeing it for the first time.

[yewberry]

5. Honestly?

It would still be completely wrong and I would still believe that Sinclair should be prevented from airing a piece of partisan propaganda.

That said, I don't think I'd feel as passionately as I do about the reality.

[Crunchy Frog]

6. I would consider it to be just as wrong.

I said as much in my emails to Sinclair. For me, this is not just a partisan issue, but one of principle. They are violating a basic tenet of fair elections, and that sort of thing can't be tolerated IMO.

Unlike some other people here, I don't have a problem with them airing it in cinemas, but piping it into people's homes on the public airwaves is just plain wrong. It would be just as wrong for them to do the same with anti-Bush propaganda. That's what campaign ads are for, and they are regulated, and there are special rules regarding fairness.

[No2W2004]

7. depends

if bizzaro Sinclair says that F-9-11 is a news program,

if bizzaro Sinclair forces it's affiliates to air f-911 without comercials (no chance to generate revinew)

or if bizzaro Sinclair offers no equal time provisions

then yes. Bizzaro Sinclair is not acting in the public interest as far as FORCING stations to air a "biased" documenary and calling it a "news" program

[Robbie67]

8. No

Fahrenheit 9/11 is the only balance to the right-wing media we've been faced with for four years (and more)

[wishlist]

10. Can't compare because Sinclair is acting as arm of corrupt government

What makes the Sinclair propaganda campaign so insidious is that it is intended to maintain and consolidate the power of the existing corrupt government under a misleader who led us to war under false pretenses. If the situation was reversed and Michael Moore put out a propaganda piece slamming an ethical, outstanding and heroic Republican who was running against a corrupt Democratic President with a corrupt Administration that was threatening civil liberties and the balance of power with no oversight, I would also be going ballistic against such a piece of propaganda being shown on public airwaves under the guise of news with the intention of helping to keep the corrupt President in power.