I smell an awful lot of TV licenses getting ripe for left-wing picking...

[ClassWarrior]

If Sinclair airs a blatant in-kind donation to the Bush* campaign, we have a great shot at getting their licenses pulled. Which opens the door to progressive investors to become license-holders.

24.

[ItsTheMediaStupid]

1. Clarify please

I don't see how their licenses will get pulled, especially with Son of General Powell's Colon running the FCC.

[Warpy]

4. Alll broadcast licenses come up periodically for community review

and that is the best time to lodge a formal protest with the FCC. We own the airwaves, you see, and Sinclair is allowed to lease them for periods of time at our discretion.

If you live in a Sinclair area, write a letter to the FCC now complaining about their blatant partisanship and lack of serving the entire comminity by broadcasting something which has all the hallmarks of slander against a candidate in an important election.

Then watch for the PSA that says their license is up for review, which they are legally required to broadcast. Follow up with another complaint to the FCC for the above.

We can and should get this company's license to use our airwaves pulled. We will likely have to do it one station at a time, but we can do it.

[ItsTheMediaStupid]

23. Thanks for reminding me of the review process

The local Richmond, VA Fox station is Sinclair.

[benburch]

2. Me too

In fact, I'd be willing to help organize an effort to go after these licenses in the renewal process.

Who else wants to help?

[ClassWarrior]

5. I'm there, Ben.

Boy there are a lot of pessimists here at DU. I say keep hope alive! Let's talk...

24.

[benburch]

8. Okay, that's two of us...

Anybody else?

Anybody here who has done the license protest process before?

[ClassWarrior]

10. We should also think about putting together an investment group.

I'm sure there are lots DUers, wealthy or otherwise, who'd love to own a chunk of a new progressive television network.

24.

[benburch]

12. I'm betting that Air America would be interested...

If and when that becomes an issue, I'll pitch the guys at Air America. I know them slightly.

[ClassWarrior]

13. Yeah, you do, dontcha?...

Nice to know people with connections. Keep me posted.

24.

[KharmaTrain]

3. Not Even Close...We Have A LOT of catching up...

Don't expect Sinclair to lose a single license over this crap. Maybe a fine...and a wrist slap at that.

Now, if you want to talk about taking this further, then it'll mean revisiting and drastically revising the 1996 Telecommunications Act, reinstituting ownership limits and stricter license guidelines (shorter terms, anti-trafficing rules) and then to create a better process where local groups can challenge license without it costing a fortune and taking years to transpire.

[ClassWarrior]

7. Well?? Then let's start catching up already!!

Cripes. Or maybe we should don our pink tutus and start wringing our hands and gnashing our teeth over our hopeless plight.

24.

[KharmaTrain]

15. Please...You Don't Want To Get Me Started On This...

I've got over 30 years of insight into this issue. DU doesn't have enough bandwidth.

[ClassWarrior]

16. And you'd hate to run the risk of wasting all that bandwidth...

...and nobody would really care.

I'm tired of people telling us what we can't do. I'm primed to DO something.

24.

[KharmaTrain]

17. Some Of Us Are...Just Very, Very Quietly

Change is on the way...and the large corporations and government won't be able to fully monopolize and control it. The Internet is a marvelous thing :grin:

Cheers!

[ClassWarrior]

28. Hmmmmmm... you can't just drop a morsel like that...

...and expect to walk away. Okay, give it up. :)

24.

[ClassWarrior]

29. IMR??...

?

24.

[Virginian]

6. Excessive Campaign donation

As this kind of air time for one candidate over the other can be measured in a dollar amount, doesn't this exceed the limit an individual or corporation can donate to a campaign?

[ClassWarrior]

18. That's exactly the arguement.

24.

[ItsTheMediaStupid]

24. Thanks for the angle

I'll have to put my tutu in the closet and get out my ass-kicking shoes.

[henslee]

9. If Dems and the ABB crowd were energized before, they're on sterioids now.

This thing is not over. I think this Sinclair thing will somehow backfire. If not advertisers getting cold feet then some othe way.

And if Farenheit 911 is not available for a tv showing then either Upriver, Bush's Brain or the one about FLA are just fine. They are better made than this anti kerry swill, though I haven't seen it.

[Democrat 4 Ever]

11. Will Michael Powell be out with the rest of the trash come

January 20th? Is this a hold over position or do we get to put some honesty back in all aspect of government, including the FCC? Just wondering.

[rehawk]

14. Liberal tv network

It is clear that about half or the people out there are democrats. Why isn't there a station out there looking for their viewership? Surely MM or Ted Turner can see an opportunity out there can't they? I'm sure many consumers would gladly get their news from an "anti-fox" network.

[evilqueen]

31. Isn't Ted Turner a conservative right winger?

One thing I have noticed, though. There are an awful lot of entertainers (among others) who are Democrats and donate to Democratic campaigns.

Here's where you can find the money folks and which side of the aisle they're on:
http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/hof.php

[Hobarticus]

19. Here, the local Fox affiliate just changed to all-Christian programming...

And with our topography, most people can't get any other stations without cable.

If there's EVER a time to have the FC intervene, it's right here. I don't have a problem with that programming, but when you're taking away options from viewers, there's a problem.

[ClassWarrior]

20. You on board then, Hobart?

24.

[missouri dem]

21. I think that the Sorros television network

has a nice ring to it.

[ClassWarrior]

22. I can hear Don Pardo now...

24.

[bush equals idiot]

25. Nothing will cripple them like 80 million democrats refusing to

buy any of their sponsors products. Remember how fast the price of beef came down years ago when housewives refused to buy beef? It only took two weeks.

A national ban of the products will send them into bankruptcy. I told them I will carry the list in my wallet. And so will everyone else I know.

[liveoaktx]

26. LeftCoaster:What to do to challenge Sinclair's license renewals (FCC)

http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/002985.html

(Note November 1st Deadlines for Carolina stations-DO IT NOW)
But what isn't done a lot which requires the broadcaster to rack up expensive legal fees, is to challenge every one of their affiliates' FCC license renewals as they come up this year and next.

The FCC rules state that anyone who has an interest, presumably a local interest, in the renewal of a TV license may file either an informal objection or a more formal petition that must meet specific requirements. Note that Petitions to Deny are required to be filed with the FCC one month in advance of the station’s license expiration date. According to the FCC’s schedule of station expiration dates by state, any move to file Petitions to Deny or objections in advance of the station’s license expiration date are already too late to be accepted for Sinclair stations in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, or the District of Columbia, as the expiration date has passed and the file has closed. However, note that there still is time to organize and file Petitions or objections by November 1, 2004 for Sinclair stations in North Carolina and South Carolina, and for Florida by January 1, 2005.

Bloggers could link up with local media law attorneys of like mind in each of these Sinclair affiliate towns to gather informal objections and formal petitions challenging the renewal of these Sinclair licenses, which would then be forwarded to the FCC for inclusion in the station's renewal file at least one month prior to the license expiration date for consideration at the time of the upcoming license renewals this year and in 2005-2007. For example, here are the North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida stations with upcoming license expirations, for which objections and petitions must be filed by November 1, 2004 for the Carolina stations, and by January 1, 2005 for the Florida stations.

[ClassWarrior]

27. Thanks Dac...

24.

[Wind Dancer]

30. How doe we file a formal petition?

I think there are many of us in NC willing to fight this to the bitter end. Where do I get started?

I have written FCC - will boycott local and national advertisers, there are a large group here that can all connect and do whatever it takes to stop this fascist network.

Please advise!

[ClassWarrior]

34. Some info here. I need to dig more...

http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/002985.html

24.

[Wind Dancer]

35. Thanks, I am gathering as much info as possible.

[Davis_X_Machina]

32. I can't think of a non-renewal, ever, of a television broadcast license.

It just doesn't happen.

It's rarer than a regional accrediting body not accrediting a four-year college.

I think it's a good idea to follow up the process with these stations, but no one's going off the air as a result.

[ClassWarrior]

33. Then LET'S MAKE SOME HISTORY!!

24.