Here's the October Surprise: Conservative TV Group to Air Anti-Kerry Film

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x893399#893427

October 9, 2004

THE NATION
Conservative TV Group to Air Anti-Kerry Film
Sinclair, with reach into many of the nation's homes, will preempt prime-time shows. Experts call the move highly unusual.



By Elizabeth Jensen, Times Staff Writer


NEW YORK — The conservative-leaning Sinclair Broadcast Group, whose television outlets reach nearly a quarter of the nation's homes with TV, is ordering its stations to preempt regular programming just days before the Nov. 2 election to air a film that attacks Sen. John F. Kerry's activism against the Vietnam War, network and station executives familiar with the plan said Friday.

Sinclair's programming plan, communicated to executives in recent days and coming in the thick of a close and intense presidential race, is highly unusual even in a political season that has been marked by media controversies.

Sinclair has told its stations — many of them in political swing states such as Ohio and Florida — to air "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal," sources said. The film, funded by Pennsylvania veterans and produced by a veteran and former Washington Times reporter, features former POWs accusing Kerry — a decorated Navy veteran turned war protester — of worsening their ordeal by prolonging the war. Sinclair will preempt regular prime-time programming from the networks to show the film, which may be classified as news programming, according to TV executives familiar with the plan.

Executives at Sinclair did not return calls seeking comment, but the Kerry campaign accused the company of pressuring its stations to influence the political process.

"It's not the American way for powerful corporations to strong-arm local broadcasters to air lies promoting a political agenda," said David Wade, a spokesman for the Democratic nominee's campaign. "It's beyond yellow journalism; it's a smear bankrolled by Republican money, and I don't think Americans will stand for it."
(snip/...)

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-na-sinclair9oct09,1,...
(On edit: Free registration required)

[LTR]

1. Is this even legal?

Then again, fuck Sinclair. Nobody watches their stupid stations anyway.

Where I live, Sinclair owns shitty UPN and WB outlets. And I don't think anyone watches what passes for their newscasts.

Either way, if there's a Sinclair station near you, I suggest boycotting them and letting them know that.

[AVID]

2. boycott or demand F911 followup

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

4. Actually a nationawide boycott against all SInclair advertisers is

needed...it's got to be decisive as it was when they took Maher off ABC

[onenote]

3. list of sinclair markets/stations

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_Broadcast_Group

go get em.....

onenote

[DeepModem Mom]

5. Let's buy time, and air "Going Upriver" in primetime --

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

6. Yahoo: "Fahrenheit 9/11" team seeks election-eve pay-TV

(snip)
LOS ANGELES, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Filmmaker Michael Moore and the distributors behind "Fahrenheit 9/11" are in talks to bring his anti-Bush documentary to pay-per-view television on the eve of the U.S. presidential election, a source in Moore's camp said on Friday.

The plan under discussion would present the movie as part of a three-hour telecast titled "The Michael Moore Pre-Election Special," carried by pay-TV distributor iN Demand Networks, said a source close to the Fellowship Adventure Group, which holds rights to the film.

The Nov. 1 program would air between 8 and 11 p.m. EST, with the pay-per-view giant charging $9.95 for the telecast, the person said, confirming details of a proposed deal first reported in the entertainment trade paper Daily Variety.

(snip)

No deal yet. More:
http://yahoo.reuters.com/financeQuoteCompanyNewsArticle.jhtml?duid=mtfh90283_2004-10-09_00-14-48_n08548971_newsml

[jonnyblitz]

7. the movie "author" also wrote a book about Rev Moon

and worked for the Moonie Washington Times. The title of the book about Rev Moon that he (Carlton Sherwood) wrote is: "Inquisition: The Persecution and Prosecution of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon".Sounds like a pro-Moon book. (((WHACKO)))

[LDS Jock]

8. Wasn't it Sinclair

who didn't want to make political statements when "Nightline" spent a whole hour reading the names of soldiers killed in Iraq?

"While the Sinclair Broadcast Group honors the memory of the brave members of the military who have sacrificed their lives in the service of our country, we do not believe such political statements should be disguised as news content. As a result, we have decided to preempt the broadcast of Nightline this Friday on each of our stations which air ABC programming."

http://www.fair.org/activism/sinclair-nightline.html