More SINclair outrage: Sales Rep Comes Forward

[newsguyatl]

A Sinclair Sales Rep. based in Florida claims he has documentation that Sinclair over charges for Kerry ads -- and charges less for Bush ads.

He tells Florida TV station WTSP that ever since he put a Kerry bumper sticker on his car and declared that he was a Democrat he's been receiving less important accounts and assignments -- and that he's considering filing a lawsuit.


No link on this yet, and no verification. Story just warming up.

Will probably be hearing more soon.

[KittyWampus]

1. Newsguy, Come Here So I Can Give You A Big, Wet Kiss

:loveya:

[w4rma]

2. This scoop will be big news. (nt)

[KharmaTrain]

3. Great Catch!!!

I smell both FCC and FEC violations here.

Has anyone seen this tripe yet? Will the Kerry campaign have the ability to pre-screen it before it's aired?

Shall we tighten the Sinclair noose a little more?

[mzmolly]

8. Tighten that noose!

:hi:

Please keep us posted as to potential violations because I think most of us are clueless about the ins and outs of the FEC/FCC regs.

[KharmaTrain]

14. Rate Fixing???

In the late 70's, the FCC and FEC drove RKO General out of the broadcast business for a combination of rate fixing and illegal campaign contributions. I'll have to refresh myself with everything that happened, but the end result was the company had to sell it's stations.

Rate fixing is on the level of payola and opens up lots of criminal violations...not just losing licenses here, if proven, some folks could be making license plates.

All way premature. Let's see what he comes up with. One thing that certain, Sinclair has a lot of very unhappy former hires that have come out of the woodwork today. Is this a pissed off AE on the way out who might as well go down in a blaze of glory, or is this the real deal.

Pardon my cynism...but I've been down too many rosey paths.

[KharmaTrain]

18. Here's Stuff On The RKO Situation...

This was definitely price fixing...

http://www.brainyencyclopedia.com/encyclopedia/r/rk/rko.html


The saga began in 1962 when the license for KHJ-TV 9 Los Angeles was challenged. During the FCC comparative hearings accusations of secret contracts requiring General Tire retailers to advertise with RKO General stations in their market and not to reveal the connection were made. The RKO General and General Tire executives who testified before the Federal Communications Commission rejected the accusations and the license was renewed without any direct documentary evidence of the offenses.

It would have ended there, but the next license to be challenged was for WNAC-TV 7 Boston, Massachusetts in 1969. During the discovery process for the hearings on WNAC-TV at the FCC, it was discovered that the accusations about secret contracts were in fact true and that General Tire had not revealed that information to the FCC when it was discovered by the company. Under FCC rules, those actions alone warrented RKO General being found to be unfit to be an FCC licensee, but RKO General then fought the license revocations for another 10 years and committed a number of other legal offenses during the process. The actual loss of licenses started with WNAC-TV on May 22, 1982 (becoming WNEV-TV) to New England Television and ended with the loss of KHJ-TV in 1989 to The Walt Disney Company. It was the largest loss of licenses by any American broadcasting company in the history of American broadcasting.

The FCC decision "...was not based on the quality of broadcast service...but on the question of RKO General's corporate integrity," Fortune noted (April 21, 1980). "General Tire was maintaining slush funds for such uses as improper overseas payments and questionable campaign contributions," Time later reported (August 24, 1987), and "allegedly filed false and misleading financial statements." Of particular concern was RKO General's lack of candor in reporting these wrongdoings to the FCC.


Now if one mixes price and rate fixing with politics...whooooo boy. Stay tuned!

[mzmolly]

22. Wow, this could get really messy.

:evilgrin:

[lasttrip]

31. bummer.

:evilgrin:

[Chiyo-chichi]

29. Before it's aired??!!

IT WILL NOT BE AIRED if 16 Senators, the DNC, Sinclair stockholders who are not named Smith, and mighty DU have anything to say about it!

I'm sure there are ppl in the campaign who have seen it. Especially now. Though someone on Randi Rhodes' message board posted an e-mail reply they got from the Sinclair Grp which said, in part, that "The
program has not been videotaped and the exact format of this unscripted event has not been finalized. Characterizations regarding the content are premature and are based on ill-informed sources."

So, how about that? Although you can buy Stolen Honor on the "Internets," apparently it hasn't been taped yet. Their tripe probably wouldn't stick to the videotape.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

4. this could be big

here's the station's site. i have to leave now, but maybe someone can keep an eye on this and grab the story when it appears:
http://www.wtsp.com/

[NMDemDist2]

16. it'snot going to show up on that website, they have a link to the GOP

on the site (but no Dem link)

I sent an email to them and CC;d the FCC

· Political Editorials. Within 24 hours of airing an editorial where the station itself either supports or opposes a candidate for public office, it must transmit the following three things to the other qualified candidate(s) for the same office or to the candidate who was opposed in the editorial: (1) notification of the date and the time of the editorial; (2) a script or tape of the editorial; and (3) an offer of a reasonable opportunity for the candidate or a spokesperson for the candidate to respond on the air.



Personal Attacks. Personal attacks occur when, during the presentation of views on a controversial issue of public importance, someone attacks the honesty, character, integrity, or like personal qualities of an identified person or group. No more than a week after a personal attack, the station must transmit the following three things to the person or group attacked: (1) notification of the date, time, and identification of the broadcast; (2) a tape, script or accurate summary of the attack; and (3) an offer of a reasonable opportunity to respond on the air.





It seems to me that you should make the Democratic position available on you website. I would also hope you will seriously consider not preempting any programming to run a clearly partisan documentary for either side in this election season.



Thank you for you attention in this matter.

[sandnsea]

5. Another American hero!

People are really putting it all on the line this election. Good for this sales rep. That's why I get a little irked when people won't put a bumper sticker on their car because it might get keyed. This guy put his income on the line, others can at least live with a scratch on their car.

[Raster]

6. I hope he does come forward with the documentation. I've also wondered...

...if sinclair stations are showing favoritism in their scheduling of the adds for g.o.p. candidates, i.e., prime time vs. middle of the night. I don't trust these bastards.

[Longhorn]

7. If it's happening in Florida, it's happening elsewhere, too.

Maybe because of the courage of this sales rep, others will come forward, too!

[Democat]

9. That would be more illegal campaign contributions!

If you share a song, you can get jail time, but if you illegally try to influence the presidential election, you get no punishment?

They should consider putting the execs of this company on trial if these allegations turn out to be true.

They are criminals.

[mzmolly]

10. Wow, keep us posted newsguy.

:hi:

[Killarney]

11. I want Sinclair to go DOWN.

They are scum.

[gcomeau]

12. I hope he got himself copies of that documentation...

...before he went public, because you know the shredders will be working overtime on this one if it's true.

-Grant

[wanpete]

13. This may really turn very interesting...

I think this may actually backfire. It's obviously a pretty desperate stunt to pull. And of course, the bushie base will eat it up with a cherry on top. But I can't imagine that progressive people will give this much thought. The smearing swifties have beaten this horse to the ground.:puke:

[sam sarrha]

15. check out the Air Wave Rip Off..tv stations pay no fee to use air owned by

citizens, and they make 10's of $billions$ with them...

check out Meredith McGehee at www.closeup.org

They need to be responsible and fair using what WE OWN and let them use for free.

saw her on CSPAN.. she ROCKS

[depakid]

17. Sinclair is going down

Hubris wil do it everytime.... goodbye licenses, hello divestiture.

My advice would definitely be to dump this stock- or if you have any sway with the company, consider selling off some of those stations before it becomes a firesale.

[msongs]

19. ummmm, where is the proof?? n/t

maybe another urbane legend (yes urbane spelled that way on purpose)

Msongs
Riverside CA

[newsguyatl]

20. not sure

not even sure if it exists.

like i said in original post, there's no verification for this.

the guy could get muzzled, he could decide to back down off the claims, or he could be lying. who knows.

but i'm hoping someone will find out for sure.

[treading_water]

21. Check the public file.

Public files are always out of date, and are almost never requested or inspected. Maybe someone should start taking a look at the public files of the Sinclair Stations. An out of date public file is grounds for a legitimate complaint to the FCC and seriously jeopardizes the status of their license. As the FCC says, it relies on the public for this kind of information. *evil grin*

A longer explanation:

It's been awhile since I worked as a traffic director (commercial scheduler) in the broadcast industry, but from re-reading some of the rules, it doesn't look like much as changed in the last 12 years or so.

Stations, both television and radio, are required to keep what is called a "public file". There are FCC regulations that dictate the contents of the file and what can be done with it.

This link explains it (with the caveat that it is currently being revised)
http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/decdoc/public_and_broadcasting.html#EDITORIALS

Here is the part we are interested in:
"Political File. Stations must keep a file containing records of all requests for broadcast time made by or for a candidate for public office. The file must identify how the station responded to such requests and (if the request was granted) the charges made, a schedule of the time purchased, the times the spots actually aired, the rates charged, and the classes of time purchased. The file must also reflect any free time provided to a candidate. The station must keep the political records for two years after the spot airs. You can find the political broadcasting rules elsewhere in this manual."

In case you are aware, pricing for ads vary widely between advertisers and between time slots. The above paragraph basically means that political advertisers can only be charged the lowest price you have given another advertiser for the given time period.

The other rule is that if you accept advertising for one candidate, you have to make available an equal amount of time for their opponent <i>should they choose to purchase time</a>. The station is free to reject <i>both</i> advertising campaigns, something that is frequently done because they can probably get more money for the slot from a non-political advertiser.

A copy of all political ad buys should be in the public file.

If you want to read more about statutes and rules on candidate appearances & advertising, look here:
http://www.fcc.gov/mb/policy/political/candrule.htm

[Killarney]

23. Did anyone see this on TV?

[colonel odis]

24. sinclair has stations in ohio, pa, fla, and wisconsin. big "swing" states

that have received a lot of media dollars.

because those files are public, they can be checked (though you have to know what to ask for, i believe) and the rates charged each candidate can be compared. so can the times that the spots aired.

if it turns out sinclair charged different rates, this could be a HUGE violation of fcc rules. best case scenario, some licenses would be disputed. second best, gigantic fines.

at the very least, it could be a damning story for the new york times, washington post, et. al. the broadcast media may even jump on board, as they like to kick one of their own when it's down. rathergate certainly showed us that.

can someone who works in that business tell us what to ask for?

who can go to the stations in those states and get the info?

do any regular folks who work in the trenches at sinclair read these boards? if so, can you help us out?

any reporters in the d.c./baltimore area, where sinclair's headquartered?

could this be what takes down sinclair?

----------------------------------

just talked to a friend who works in sales for a local nbc affiliate. she said all you have to do is go to the station and ask to see their public files.

they may want to know which parts you want to see or otherwise try to jack you around. but the current information is available just for the asking. and you can make copies. competing stations are doing that to each other throughout this campaign season to see how much business each is getting from the candidates.

she also said that someone familiar with that business could figure out easily how much is being charged each campaign, etc.

and, she said, it's not just a no-no to do something like charge one campaign a different price. she said it's a very big no-no.

any media buyers for the kerry campaign out there?

[cthrumatrix]

25. let' s see IF this plays out..if so..they are Toast

[sherilocks]

26. Thanks for the info

I just passed it on to the right place.

[Mister K]

27. If the FCC launches an investigation...

Keep in mind it is run by Michael Powell (repub). But if there is enough public outcry, someone will launch an investigation into this matter and it could get very, very messy. Sinclair's investors have already had a problem with the company. The stock has dropped 50% since January 04 and stands to drop some more given the negative implications of an investigation or even if someone suspects some foul play. Remember everyone, it is the perception of a problem that causes a stock to change and not necessarily the fact that there is one.

[Shopaholic]

28. I worked in TV for over 10 years--let me tell you about political ad rates

As posted earlier, here's what the FCC says about political rates:

In case you are aware, pricing for ads vary widely between advertisers and between time slots. The above paragraph basically means that political advertisers can only be charged the lowest price you have given another advertiser for the given time period

This is 100% correct. A station's political ad rates are decided by the amount that a station has given any advertiser in the preceding quarter (I think it's quarter-my memory is a little rusty here about what the preceding amount of time is).

Say Coca-Cola, Ford, and Proctor & Gamble, have all placed ad buys in the 8-9 slot in the previous quarter on a particular station and that their negotiated ad buys for that particular 8-9pm slot ranged from $750-$1500. The rates can easily vary that much because bulk advertisers can negotiate lower ad rates with stations based on volume buys and/or the clout that the particular company's ad agency can wield with the station.

This means then, that by law, the station can only
charge any political campaign the lowest ad rate charged for that particular time slot--which in this case would be $750.

As I recall, political advertisers are required to buy specific shows and cannot buy what are called "rotators" in the business--commercials which can appear in a broad time range, say from 8-11pm or 5-7pm. They must buy by specific show or time slot.

It's pretty common practice in the broadcasting business to keep your ad rates for shows high in the quarter preceding a political season because you absolutely want to get the highest ad rates possible during the campaign season for political ads.

While it's true that some (if not most) stations keep their public files slightly out of date, most political files are kept very current. At the station's I worked at, keeping those political files up and current was a high priority for stations because it wasn't entirely uncommon for someone from a campaign to request to see the files for their opponent so they could make sure that they were indeed getting charged the same rates for ad buys. So if these allegations are true, Sinclair's goose is cooked. This is a huge, huge, huge, FCC violation if they are charging the Kerry campaign (or any Democrat) more than they are charging the Republican candidates.

The Kerry Campaign (and all Democratic candidates) need to demand to see the political files for all of their competitors at every single Sinclair station and they need to do it ASAP.

[treading_water]

32. You are right on the money.

It looks like our experience with the broadcast industry advertising methods is similar.

With commercial scheduling, and I have to admit that I worked primarily in radio (governed by the same rules), the reason that we schedule political ads in particular spots was in order to control the ad rate. The more specific you are with your time slot, the more expensive the ad.

I would also like to emphasize that ANYONE can view a station's public file. If you are living in a market with a Sinclair station, maybe you should exercise your right to view those files.

If you get ahold of copies of political ad buys, it may not be as straight forward as $XX for John Kerry commericials and $XY for * commercials. Time slot, show ratings and day of the week are also legal, allowable factors in determining pricing.

One small quibble with your email above... you quoted me, not the FCC. :)

[Midlodemocrat]

30. Any feedback from the FCC

I have been sending emails like crazy, but have not heard anything back about this whole Sinclair mess. Has anyone received a response from either the FCC or a Sinclair station? Would be interested to see how much impact we are having.

Thanks.

[HulkamaniacUM]

33. Nail these guys to the wall!

These jokers just stepped into an arena they weren't ready for. Overcharging for political ads would get these guys in trouble REALLY quickly.

[cthrumatrix]

34. massive boycott of thier advertisers....NO exceptions !

[Alpharetta]

35. List of advertisers to call

I am calling these advertisers and informing them I am honoring the boycott of their products because they provide revenue to Sinclair-owned stations.

I am making sure these advertisers understand the boycott is a long term purchasing decision.

http://www.boycottsbg.com/advertisers/default.aspx

[NJmaverick]

38. Contacting the advertisers is so IMPORTANT

THey are the ones that can FORCE Sinclair to behave. No one else can do it.

[democrat_patriot]

36. Kick.

eom.

[donkeyotay]

37. Oops! Is someone cooking the golden goose?

I'll bet many are wishing the Smiths had passed this one by.

[kimchi]

39. Kick.

Excellent info from our resident experts!

Dare I hope? Thanks for the scoops, newsguyatl.