Most nonsensical LIB comments on Sinclair were Randi Rhodes

[PretzelWarrior]

I listen to her now and then...but I literally shook my head and said, "HUH?" when last week she suggested that people should stop bothering those nice secretaries at Toyota, Proctor and Gamble, etc.asking them to pull advertising. Her solution?

She said...buy 10 shares of stock in Sinclair and then write to Sinclair to complain.

So....WTF? Short-term spillover consequence if her advice was acted on would be driving up Sinclair share price. Long-term would be...Sinclair is majority controlled by Smith family so what a 10 share owner says is gonna mean SQUAT.

Based on recent headlines, I like our reaction better. But what was Randi smoking?

[trumad]

1. Shareholders have power as witnessed

by the shareholder lawsuit funded by Media Matters.

[PretzelWarrior]

3. existing shareholders. institutional shareholders.

but not penny ante shareholders who are johnny-come-lately's. I thought her idea was stupid. The reason shareholders are now revolting is PRECISELY because thousands and thousands of consumers are calling/writing to advertisers who avoid controversy like the plague.

She SHOULD have said...here's some emails/numbers of HIGHER-UP officers in these corporations, etc. if all she was worried about was a receptionist or admin having to handle some customer complaint calls.

[saracat]

2. I heard the and almost chocked. She can't be that

badly informed about general knowledge regarding the market can she???

[Cocoa]

4. she has a conflict of interest on this

I think all broadcasters will suffer collateral damage from the shit Sinclair is bringing on itself.

[BlueEyedSon]

5. I'm not a lawyer, and I don't play one on TV,

But the CEO of a corporation is LEGALLY BOUND to protect the investment (and I assume income - in the case of a dividend-yielding company) of the stockholders.

If a CEO (or his direct reports) act in such a way that the company loses value (as in this instance) he is liable.

And the entire class of shareholders would have a case against him....

[tishaLA]

6. It's one of the dumbest things I've heard

And I love Randi. But why shouldn't people call and complain? If I had a defective product I would.

I don't know what made her respond this way...probably sympathy with low-paid workers, which is admirable, but gets in the way of activism.

[ibegurpard]

7. Short term unproductive idea.

Long term? Has anyone considered the possibility of organized PUBLIC buying of shares in companies that are behaving in ways detrimental to the public good? Yes, it would have the effect of driving up the price and, yes, no one listens to the "penny ante" stockholders. However, a large group massed together with a similar concern could be a force to be reckoned with in the boardroom. Thoughts?

[DemOperative]

9. Shareholders just challenged Sinclair's plans to air this mocumentary

Pension funds; in this case NY St Employees, which is a 900 lb gorilla.

In light of the 7 1/2% whack they took yesterday, expect more noise.

So yeah, IBYP , an organized shareholder activist slate can work wonders.

[MsTryska]

8. Randi's got a point.....

i disagree with what she said about buying their stock, but as the moderate independent mentioned:

"Ladies and gentlemen, liberal and conservative and moderate readers of The Moderate Independent, good Americans of all labels and backgrounds, it is time for what we have been talking about all along. My fellow Americans, let the real ground war begin.



The game of running ads and having debates to sway people’s minds will go on and be the focus of the rest of the media, but the real story, the thing that matters at this point, are things like a man named Burdish who is trying to purge 17,000 Democratic names off of the voter rolls in Nevada (see article: "Nev. Move to Block Some Dem Voters Fails") The real stories are what is happening in Colorado, where a ballot measure to split the electoral votes could be the beginning of the end of any chance Democrats have of ever winning an election again. (see article: "Proportional split of electoral votes on Colorado ballot") The stories are Jeb Bush using the hurricanes in Florida to stick Ralph Nader on the Florida ballot, even though Nader was to be left off for not meeting requirements. (see article: "Florida 'To List Nader On Ballot'") Or this story out of Oregon about paid campaign canvassers destroying voter registration forms. (see article: "Bradbury plans to investigate election complaint") Or how about the Michigan absentee ballots being screwed up so that a vote for Kerry records as a vote for Bush? (see: LiveJournal article also confirmed by Detroit Free Press article)



And just as importantly are the side of the ground war that the media is missing entirely. The left-wing has found it’s propaganda machine in, of all places, magazines like Cosmo, which are laced with pro-Kerry messages. And, most important of all, the ground machine put together by the Kerry campaign – and, indeed, the media response effort – is dwarfing that of the Bush campaign.



These last two weeks are not about silly TV slurs about service 30 years ago. It is the battle of the large scale, government-backed Republican efforts to manipulate the vote vs. the Kerry campaign’s far superior ground game. And, as we get to election day itself, it will be about the game plan for that day, the media strategy planned by the Bushies to suppress and manipulate the vote, and whether or not the Kerry campaign will be as ready for that as they have been for the post-debate spin cycle."


http://www.moderateindependent.com/v2i19editorial.htm