Portland loses ads over Sinclair, Sinclair down 25 million and other News

[G_j]

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/local/041015wgme.shtml

Friday, October 15, 2004

WGME loses ads over plan to air anti-Kerry film

By RAY ROUTHIER, Portland Press Herald Writer

WGME's plan to air a documentary critical of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry prompted three Maine companies Thursday to pull their advertising from the Portland TV station.

Hannaford supermarkets, the Lee Auto Malls, and the law offices of Joe Bornstein withdrew their advertising indefinitely from WGME (Channel 13) over its plans to air "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal" on Oct. 23.

WGME's owner, Sinclair Broadcast Group, has ordered its 62 TV stations in local markets across the country to air the film without commercials.

The film shows Vietnam War veterans criticizing Kerry - a fellow veteran - for opposing the war after he served.

Alan Cartwright, WGME's general manager, declined to comment when contacted.


---------
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1097686240147
www.sinclairwarch.net

Plan to Air Anti-Kerry Documentary Spurs Media Merger Critics

Ron Orol
The Deal
10-14-2004


Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. is emerging as enemy No. 1 for critics of media consolidation.

Reacting to Sinclair's decision to schedule an anti-John Kerry documentary for its 62 television stations two weeks before the Nov. 2 presidential election, Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., is vowing to push for more stringent limits on mergers among TV, radio and newspaper companies.

"Sinclair is the poster child of what happens when you have media consolidation," said Dorgan spokesman Barry Piatt. "Clearly the situation with Sinclair underscores the need for broad ownership and points out the dangers of concentration of ownership."

<snip?
In wake of the Sinclair controversy, Dorgan intends to muster support for attaching media merger limits to one of the spending bills that Congress must pass when it returns in November from recess. If that fails, he will seek to use reauthorization of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 as a vehicle to limit media mergers, Piatt said.

The senator's legislation would restore media ownership limits that existed before the FCC's June 2003 decision to ease such restrictions. This includes retaining a prohibition on a newspaper company owning a broadcast outlet in the same market and a cap on the number of stations a TV operator may own in the same market.

..more..
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http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA471915.html?display=Breaking+News&referral=S

Activists Push for Personal-Attack Rule


By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 10/13/2004 2:51:00 PM

Anti-media-consolidation activists plan to use the flap over Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc.'s airing of a documentary critical of John Kerry to push for reimposition of the Federal Communications Commission's personal-attack rules and fairness doctrine.

In a conference call with reporters Wednesday, representatives of Common Cause, the Alliance for Better Campaigns, Media Access Project, Media for Democracy, and the Office of Communication of the United Church of Christ said that Sinclair's decision to carry the documentary three weeks before the election on all of its 62 stations represented a political agenda at odds with its responsibilities as licensees to be, well, fair and balanced.

"Acts of extreme bias may violate broadcasters’ statutory public interest obligations, and should be addressed in license renewal hearings at the Federal Communications Commission," said Meredith McGehee, executive director for the Alliance For Better Campaigns.

The groups were not asking for the documentary to be pulled, pointing out that they hadn't seen it and it wasn't the government's place to do so anyway.
..more..
--
http://www.commoncause.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=194883&ct=252769

Common Cause statement on Sinclair Broadcasting

Like all broadcasters who receive their public airwaves licenses for free from the government, Sinclair Broadcast Group promises to serve the public interest, convenience and necessity. At the heart of that promise is the commitment to report the news as fairly as possible, and to air diverse points of view on issues of national and local importance. Airing the anti-Kerry documentary, Stolen Honor: Wounds that Never Heal, or portions of it, and billing it as “news” is not fair, and fails to provide viewers with the even-handed journalism that they require.

more...
------
According to the Boston Herald, Sinclair's market value has lost
$25 million this week!

http://business.bostonherald.com/businessNews/view.bg?a...

<snip>
If Sinclair's chairman, David Smith, was hoping to impress Wall Street, it didn't work. Sinclair fell yesterday for the second day running, tumbling more than 1 percent in heavy volumes. Total wiped off the market value since the weekend: $25 million.

``It's very disappointing,'' one portfolio manager told the Herald yesterday. ``Now we'll probably see some liberal company respond. I wish these companies would just stay out of politics.''

<snip>

[wicket]

1. I'd LOVE to see the Fairness Doctrine come back

It's needed now more than ever.

[G_j]

4. it would be nice if the 'silver lining' of this

was a successful effort to bring back the Fairness Doctrine!

[wicket]

16. Amen to that!

[Worst Username Ever]

2. Their stock is down again.

Only .07, but still. Hehe.

[Jim Sagle]

5. That's "only" 1%. Gotta love it.

[evilqueen]

3. LMAO

$25mil loss is "disappointing"?
LOL... they ain't seen nothin' yet.

[sundancekid]

6. make them PAY for their unamerican way ... we vote with our pocketbooks!

[Peak_Oil]

17. I wish we could vote with our votes.

Using money as a voting mechanism automatically puts power in the hands of the rich.

I sent a bunch of complaint emails to their advertisers, maybe that's the vote we need to organize.

Good news, though, and I have good feelings about what's coming up for us. This may be what we need to do in order to make ourselves heard.

[coreystone]

7. Alright "Hannaford" supermarkets......

That's my favorite store for grocery shopping. :-)

"Hannaford supermarkets, the Lee Auto Malls, and the law offices of Joe Bornstein withdrew their advertising indefinitely from WGME (Channel 13) over its plans to air "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal" on Oct. 23."/

[KoKo]

8. Wow! Thanks so much for all these links. I was getting so discouraged an

wondered if all our efforts were for nothing. Putting it all out there means that we just might have a chance to get some attention to getting "Fairness Doctrine" reinstated.

[MockSwede]

11. Two more advertisers pull out

I have received reply from two other advertisers in Portland that are withdrawing from SINclair. NOT the ones listed in article. Keep up the kick them in the pocketbook efforts - email the advertisers.

[G_j]

12. & now MoveOn has joined the fight:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1080906


MoveOn: 'We have a media emergency': Sinclair Broadcast Group


Dear MoveOn member,

We have a media emergency. Sinclair Broadcast Group is now instructing their 62 local stations, many in battleground states, to pre-empt regular programming to air a Kerry smear piece two weeks before the election. This unprecedented move would be direct electioneering by a corporate media giant -- and against federal election law.

Sinclair is apparently willing to take this risk to their business because this is an election that hangs in the balance. It's our job to make them understand exactly the risk they face, if they choose to pursue partisanship rather than a broadcaster's duty to the public or even their own business interests.

One of the key things we can do today is put pressure on each of the local stations, which have a responsibility by law to serve their community interests. Can you make a call, right now, to your local station? You can look up your local station at:

http://www.sinclairwatch.org/act?z=28806
----
(NC- WLOS) www.sinclairwatch.net

SinclairWatch.org is a new site maintained by our friends at Free Press. Free Press is also encouraging citizens to pledge to fight Sinclair stations' license renewals, if Sinclair follows through with using their stations for electioneering. Real local opposition to license renewal will be taken very seriously. If you don't have a station in your area, the site makes it easy for you to file a complaint with the FCC and contact Sinclair's headquarters. Just click the link above to get started.

Please let us know you called, at:

http://www.moveon.org/sinclair2.html?id=4431-3117687-to0gqCuGbrDLImbR1RfvcA

Besides the complaints that will surely be filed through the FEC and FCC, Sinclair will certainly hear from advertisers who face being implicated in this scheme and stockholders who face losing value in their investments in Sinclair.

I've attached an excerpt from an article in the Washington Post below, which gives the details of this story.

Thanks for everything you do.

Sincerely,
--Noah T. Winer
MoveOn.org
Friday, October 15th, 2004

Sinclair Stations to Air Anti-Kerry Documentary
By Paul Farhi
Washington Post Staff Writer

Monday, October 11, 2004; Page A07

Sinclair Broadcast Group of Maryland, owner of the largest chain of television stations in the nation, plans to preempt regular programming two weeks before the Nov. 2 election to air a documentary that accuses Sen. John F. Kerry of betraying American prisoners during the Vietnam War.

Sinclair has ordered its 62 stations, some of which are in the critical swing states of Ohio, Florida, Iowa and Wisconsin, to air "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal" during prime-time hours next week. The Sinclair station group collectively reaches 24 percent of U.S. television households.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22788-2004Oct10.html
..more..

[high density]

9. Sinclair move part of "The Five Dumbest Things on Wall Street This Week"

Will Sinclair Broadcast Group have an effect on the presidential election? Or will the presidential election have an effect on Sinclair?

Sinclair, you may recall, is the TV station operator that has told its stations to run an anti-Kerry documentary, uninterrupted, in prime time on its 62 TV stations next week.

Actually, we're not sure what Sinclair will be running, although we suspect it will not be too complimentary toward presidential candidate John Kerry. What Sinclair says on its Web site is that its "upcoming special news event" will feature "the topic of Americans held as prisoners of war in Vietnam."

What we do know is that Sinclair's desire to inform the public -- or what critics call an illegal, disguised political contribution to President Bush -- could have some unintended economic consequences. Maybe.

More: http://www.thestreet.com/_yahoo/markets/dumbestgm/10188019_3.html

[DemocracyInaction]

10. Hannaford changed it's mind. It was posted here this morning.

Lee is a big thing in Maine and so is all the Bornstein (sp?) ads. But, apparently Hannaford has reissued a statement and said they won't pull their ads. Lot of Dems will not be shopping Hannafords. And WGME is going to be hitting the basement in the news ratings.

[StlMo]

13. The United Church of Christ truly is great.

In response to Sinclair Broadcasting's plans, OC, Inc. director urges reinstating Fairness Doctrine, personal attack rules


Sinclair Broadcast Group's plans to air partisan documentary prompts response from five media advocacy groups.

October 13, 2004


WASHINGTON DC—"Sinclair Broadcasting's plans to show an anti-Kerry documentary days before the presidential election demand restoring the personal attack rule and the Fairness Doctrine," Gloria Tristani, managing director of the Office of Communication of the United Church of Christ (OC, Inc.), today (Oct. 13) told reporters at a joint press conference in Washington, D.C.

The tele-press conference -- sponsored by the Alliance for Better Campaigns, Common Cause, Media Access Project, Media for Democracy, and OC, Inc. -- was held in response to Sinclair Broadcasting Group's plans to air a partisan documentary close to the presidential election.

...

"'It is the purpose of the First Amendment to preserve an uninhibited marketplace of ideas in which truth will ultimately prevail, rather than to countenance monopolization of that market, whether it be by the Government itself or a private licensee.' -- Red Lion Broadcasting v. FCC, 395 US 367 (1969)

"Sinclair Broadcasting's plans to show an Anti-Kerry documentary days before the presidential election demands restoring the personal attack rule and the Fairness Doctrine.

...

http://www.ucc.org/news/u101304.htm

[StlMo]

14. Kick

:kick:

[vetwife]

15. Act Folks ! People are so simple minded they will be swayed

DON'T LET THEM GET AWAY WITH THIS> IT IS OUR AIRWAVES !