Sinclair's statement on their website

[NMDemDist2]

"

We welcome your comments regarding the upcoming special news event featuring the topic of Americans held as prisoners of war in Vietnam. 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. (my emphasis added)

Massachusetts Senator John Kerry has been invited to participate. You can urge him to appear by calling his Washington, D.C. campaign headquarters at
[phone].

if you would like to make further comments on this matter, you may do so at:
[e-mail]
"


what are they talking about?

edit to add: are they backing down?

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. Obfuscation.

That is what they are talking about. Plain and simple.

[Langis]

2. They are trying to pass it off as news

By asking Kerry to participate for a panel discussion before the propaganda film.

[Kimber Scott]

5. News is new - A current event. News is not 30 years old and opinionated.

nt

[ikojo]

10. Kerry appearing before this inquisition is like

a Jew appearing before a Klan rally to dispute the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion.

[Kimber Scott]

3. They're trying to trap him. Why aren't they asking Bush to participate?

He can discuss his actions during the Vietnam War. Kerry has no need to respond to this garbage. These people think they're so funny, but I have a feeling this whole thing is going to blow up in their face.

[bluestateguy]

4. Of course he's been invited to appear

so he can dignify these slanderous attacks.

If I made a video calling you a wife-beater, an alcoholic, a drug addict and a child molester, put it on TV and then invited you to appear on TV to respond, would you call that fair "journalism"?

It's time to get the corporations out of the news business.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

6. a panel 'discussion'

that would consist of that smarmy fuck mark hyman asking kerry questions like:

"did you or did you not betray amur'ca with hanioi jane fonda after you faked acts of heroism to get your erroneously reported medals" and other news worthy stuff like that

[Malva Zebrina]

7. who knows--it is typical of the spin and falsity of Republicans and

corporatism--they do not connect on any human level, but control by these robotical control memos

It is exactly the reply I received today when I e-mailed the
WGME station in Portland, Maine.

We are being jerked around by a corporation (s) and I am so angry I could spit in their (all of their) face(s)

Frome WGME, Portland, Maine:


We welcome your comments regarding the upcoming special news event
featuring the topic of Americans held as prisoners of war in Vietnam.
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.
Massachusetts Senator John Kerry has been invited to participate. You
can urge him to appear by calling his Washington, D.C. campaign
headquarters at [phone]. You may call this station's parent
company headquarters at [phone] if you would like to make further
comments on this matter. Thank you.

[LisaM]

8. I think it will backfire

Look what happened to their antics regarding Nightline. These people are corrupt and what's probably going to happen is that the public will call for the return of the Fairness Doctrine. Michael Powell needs to go, big time. Maybe Howard Dean would be a good FCC head.

[NMDemDist2]

9. how can he "participate" just before the biggest election of his life? n/t

[dolstein]

11. A simple question: has ANYTHING like this EVER happened?

When was the last time the a media company ORDERED its stations to PREEMPT network programming and AIR a political program?

I suppose the closest thing we've had recently was when Sinclair ordered stations NOT to air the Nightline program naming all the soldiers who died in Iraq. But this is FAR, FAR worse.

[henslee]

12. If the show has not been taped, how come you can download it?

[NMDemDist2]

13. where can you download it? nt