DU CALL TO ACTION: STOP ANTI-KERRY FILM FROM AIRING

[Iceburg]

This call comes from America Blog's own "John in DC" (creator of the successful "Stop Dr. Laura" campaign.

http://americablog.org/
ANTI-KERRY FILM TO AIR ON 1/4 OF NATION'S TV'S RIGHT BEFORE THE ELECTION
by John in DC - 10/9/2004 09:01:26 AM

Folks, this is the most outrageous thing I've read this election. A conservative group that owns TV outlets that reach into nearly a quarter of the nation's homes is FORCING its local stations to PREEMPT ITS REGULAR PRIME-TIME COVERAGE, just days before the election, to air a film attacking Kerry's military record.

I won't even bother repeating the story here - you can read it all in the Los Angeles Times. The conservative group is the same one that refused to air Nightline's homage to our fallen troops.

Read the article and then someone out there find out which EXACT local stations belong to this Sinclair Broadcast Group. We are going to take those stations down. I want to know the exact stations, with proof (find me the source), then I want to help coordinate a campaign to kill their advertising. I cannot run a second Web site, someone else needs to start it and run, but you can copy it after our StopDrLaura.com campaign (the site is still up as an archive), and I'm happy to give advice and help with publicity.

We need to know which of our local stations is in bed with the president and this right-wing zealot and we need to destroy them. I'm talking get every single advertiser to leave those stations. Publish the advertisers email and phone and contact them, demanding that they stop funneling their money to partisan un-American TV zealots who are trying to throw our election. I suspect most advertisers will not like hearing about this story.
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DUers ...
The Sinclair Broadcast Group (SBG) is the operator of the largest number of local television stations in the United States, with a total of 62 stations across the country in 39 different broadcast markets. Broadcasts by SBG stations can be received by 24 percent of American households. Details about SBG networks and stations

[senseandsensibility]

1. I'm there

Just keep us posted. Tell us when we e-mail and to whom. Thanks for your efforts so far~:)

[Iceburg]

10. It will need to be a well coordinated two-front campaign

1) The advertisers
2) The stations execs -- The Sinclair Company and its affiliates

While there is not enough time between now and the end of the month for the Advertisers to actually "feel the pain" of a boycott (that will inevitably follow) they will be forced to discuss openly (in their boardrooms) the risk of "doing nothing". Make no mistake the advertisers control the game at the local level. Advertisers know that once tarred with a negative brush, it is both costly, and hard if not impossible to regain a positive/supportive image.

I will email John In DC for more specifics on how we proceed.

[NMDemDist2]

2. WAAAYY too many swing states on the list of stations

what can we do?

[liberal_in_GA]

3. Thanks for organizing this

If we all make a concerted and focused effort, we can make some noise about this BS.

[realFedUp]

4. Liberals don't stop free speech, but can make a lot of noise about it.

Can certainly take the consumer route, letter writing
to editors (this was on the front page of the LA Times
today - [e-mail]) Make it less profitable
for Sinclair's advertisers. Cancel subscriptions.
Picket the owners in public places. Write editorials
calling out the lies inside the film and the payoffs
to the film maker and backers.

Reveal the truth.

[blondeatlast]

5. Sinclair affiliate listing

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1021712

[HFishbine]

6. Greensboro/High Point/Winston-Salem, NC -- direct link to contact form

WXLV:

http://www.abc45.com/greensboro_nc/station/contact_departments.shtml

(Be sure to select a department, I suggest "programming.")

[Minimus]

7. My city is on the list - 2 stations in Greensboro NC

ABC WXLV & WUPN - I will check into whether either one will pre-empt.

I do know that WXLV did not cave in to Sinclair and they did broadcast the Nightline episode of Ted Koppel reading the soldiers killed in Iraq. So hopefully they will keep their wits about them this time too.

[FloridaPat]

Michael Moore is trying to get F9-11 on Nov 1. That will have a

much bigger audience.

[farmbo]

8. I'll help, but the better bet is to buy equal time for "Going Up River"

We've dealt with Sinclair in the past, in the Nightline controversy over reading the war dead. They are right-wing-wacko-scum, who don't care about the public interest and who take their orders directly from Karl Rove. They will not budge on this. And even though we may be able to scare off some of their moderate advertizers....they WILL find corporations to finance this sludge-fest.

Too many people are facing too much prison time if Bush is not re-elected, to risk a falloff in business through sponsorship of this movie.

With the death of "equal time" and the "fairness doctrine" this is how our media conglomerates now operate, and we're naive to think otherwise.

Our best bet is to dig down one last time and buy time on other stations to run "Going Up River" or "Fahrenheit 9/11".

[Oak2004]

13. You've still got to protest to unresponsive scum

We may never change their minds. But when every attempt to unduly influence elections gets a strong response, the next time they think about propagandizing the public, they'll also think about whether it's worth all the trouble that will follow.

Until we restore fairness requirements and break up the media conglomerates, public outcry is what we've got to do.

[gmoney]

9. But we can flood their fax, phone and e-mail box

http://www.sbgi.net/contact/contact.shtml

http://www.sbgi.net/about/executives.shtml

[LiberalFighter]

11. Here is a list

WTTO 21 WB - Birmingham, AL
WABM 68 UPN - Birmingham, AL
WDBB 17 WB - Birmingham, AL *LMA
WEAR 3 ABC - Mobile, AL
WFGX 35 IND - Mobile, AL
KOVR 13 CBS - Sacramento
WTWC 40 NBC - Tallahassee, FL
WTXL 27 ABC - Tallahassee, FL *Outsourcing Agreement
WTTA 38 WB - Tampa *LMA
WYZZ 43 FOX - Peoria, IL
WICS 15 NBC — Springfiefld, IL
WICD 20 NBC — Springfiefld, IL
KGAN 2 CBS — Cedar Rapids, IA
KDSM 17 FOX - Des Moines
WDKY 56 FOX - Lexington, KY
KBSI 23 FOX - Paducah, KY
WDKA 49 WB - Paducah, KY
WGME 13 CBS - Portland, ME
WBFF 45 FOX - Baltimore
WNUV 54 WB - Baltimore
WGGB 40 ABC - Springfield, MA
WSMH 66 FOX - Flint, MI
KMWB 23 WB - Minneapolis
KSMO 62 WB - Kansas City, MO
KDNL 30 ABC - St. Louis
KVWB 21 WB - Las Vegas
KFBT 33 IND - Las Vegas
WUTV 29 FOX - Buffalo, NY
WNYO 49 WB - Buffalo, NY
WUHF 31 FOX - Rochester, NY
WSYT 68 FOX - Syracuse
WNYS 43 WB - Syracuse
WLOS 13 ABC - Asheville, NC
WBSC 40 WB - Asheville, NC *LMA
WXLV 45 ABC - Greensboro, NC
WUPN 48 UPN - Greensboro, NC
WLFL 22 WB - Raleigh - Durham, NC
WRDC 28 UPN - Raleigh - Durham, NC
WSTR 64 WB - Cincinnati
WTTE 6 ABC - Columbus, OH
WSYX 28 FOX - Columbus, OH
WKEF 22 NBC - Dayton, OH
WRGT 45 FOX - Dayton, OH *LMA
KOCB 34 WB - Oklahoma City
KOKH 25 FOX - Oklahoma City
WPGH 53 FOX - Pittsburgh
WCWB 22 WB - Pittsburgh
WMMP 36 UPN - Charleston, SC
WTAT 24 FOX - Charleston, SC
WZTV 17 FOX - Nashville
WUXP 30 UPN - Nashville
WNAB 58 WB - Nashville
WEMT 39 FOX - Tri-Cities, TN
KABB 29 FOX - San Antonio
KRRT 35 WB - San Antonio
WTVZ 33 WB - Norfolk, VA
WRLH 35 FOX - Richmond, VA
WCHS 8 ABC - Charleston, WV
WVAH 11 FOX - Charleston, WV
WMSN 47 FOX - Madison, WI
WCGV 24 UPN - Milwaukee
WVTV 18 WB - Milwaukee
Source: Columbia Journalism Review

[WiseMen]

12. This is ALL-OUT Political Warfare with the Gov power behind the enemy.