Sinclair Adv. ds parada Drinks the Koolaid - My Response

[OilemFirchen]

I waited 'til last night to send a letter to the Sinclair Boycott list, specifically because they hadn't yet issued a formal program synopsis until then. Since it's clear that Sinclair intends to proceed with this farce, I shot off a personal missive:

To Whom it May Concern,

I have just been made aware that your company may continue to advertise with Sinclair Broadcasting Group, despite their intention to preempt network programming in favor of a political advertisement.

While I've never been particularly politically active, and pride myself in maintaining an open mind about issues, this, to me, is clearly a transparent attempt to influence the presidential election, and flies in the face of what makes this a great country. Without an impartial media, we cannot sustain our democratic republic.

I'm so disappointed that any corporation would financially support such a craven (and, I hope to discover, illegal) attempt to unfairly sway the electorate. I've never participated in a boycott before, but you can rest assured that I will do so now.

Should you insist on maintaining a business relationship with Sinclair, you may consider this family and all of our relatives and friends former customers. Otherwise, thank you so much for your responsible action in this regard.

Sincerely,

XXX XXX

I just received a response from ds parada (http://www.dsparada.com), as follows:

Thank you for your interest.
The Sinclair Broadcast Group has
addressed this problem and Senator
Kerry has been invited to participate in
the event. If you refer to their website at
http://www.sbgi.net you will see
their posting. You may also refer
any calls to [phone].

Have a colorful day,
ds parada

So much for due diligence - I'd suggest that they either have always intended to continue advertising, or are simply stupid enough to buy the first lame explanation that comes their way. Anyhoo, my response:

Thank you very much for responding. Unfortunately, it's clear that SBGI has NOT "addressed this problem" but, instead, will be airing the program as they originally intended. You'll note that I never asserted that they would be running the film in its entirety and, in fact, had waited until Sinclair formally announced the program's content before supporting the boycott. Their intention is to poison the election process with a smear campaign, as evidenced both by their description of the program, and by V.P. Mark Hyman's comments regarding same.

I won't back down until the entire program is canceled and hope that you will do likewise. Until then, I will continue to boycott any Sinclair advertiser.

Thank you again,

TURN UP THE HEAT!

[snowbear]

1. The people at SINclair....

...have definitely reserved their spot in Hell! :evilfrown:

I'd like to see a final list of the corporations who have refused to take part and have pulled advertising...

Al Franken talked a lot about Burger King pulling out in disgust, but it would be nice to see a complete list of those who said NO.

[OilemFirchen]

2. Here's what I have so far.

I hope others will contribute.

Regis Corporation: Will not air commercials "during or adjacent to any political programming". That's a piece of victory. Their letter to SBGI:

VIA FACSIMILE

October 14, 2004

Mr. David D. Smith
Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.
10706 Beaver Dam Road
Hunt Valley, MD 21030

Dear Mr. Smith:

I am writing regarding a matter of deep concern. We have received well
over 1,000 e-mails from consumers threatening to boycott our salons due to
anti-Kerry political programming your stations are planning to run. The
argument is that since we advertise on some of your stations, we are
supporting this programming. To be clear, we do not condone or participate
in political activities. These divisive activities are best left to
individuals.

Therefore, we are demanding that your stations not run any of our
advertisements during or adjacent to this political programming. In the
event this reasonable demand is not adhered to, we will hold your company
completely responsible for any damages we sustain.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

REGIS CORPORATION

Iams Corporation|: Ditto - they won't run ads at the time ("We haven't reviewed the content of this program, nor would we advertise in it. One of our guiding principles is that we don't advertise in programs where there is expression for or against a given political candidate.") but, otherwise, apparently intend to continue their relationship with SBGI.

Kanoski & Associates: "We have pulled our advertising on our local Sinclair station."

[SoCalDemocrat]

3. NO ads to run during broadcast

They don't plan on running ads during their 1.5 hour ad. Some advertisers are saying they have agreed not to advertise during the special. It's a scam, keep boycotting them.

Sinclair has ordered all 62 of its stations to air "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal" without commercials in prime-time next week, the Washington Post reported, just two weeks before the Nov. 2 election.

[LittleClarkie]

4. My first response so far

"Thank you for contacting MasterCard International regarding Sinclair
Broadcast Group's news program entitled "A P.O.W. Story: Politics,
Pressure and the Media". In the interest of maintaining neutrality
during this election period, MasterCard will not be advertising during this program."

Eh, I dunno. It's something, but then again no one is advertising during the program. What do y'all think?