The Republicans cried foul when “Fahrenheit 911” arrived in theatres despite their best efforts to keep it from being released; now a big Bush supporter is fighting back using his ownership of television stations. From DCRTV:
DCRTV first reported it last week. Now, Monday’s NY Times has more. The conservative-leaning Sinclair Broadcast Group, whose 60-ish television outlets reach a quarter of the nation’s homes, is ordering its stations to preempt network primetime programming just days before the 11/2 election to air a program that attacks Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry’s activism against the Vietnam War. Sinclair, which is based in the Baltimore suburb of Hunt Valley, has told its stations, many of them in political “swing” states such as Ohio and Florida, to air “Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal.” The program, funded by Pennsylvania veterans and produced by a veteran and former Washington Times reporter, features former POWs accusing Kerry of worsening their ordeal by prolonging the war. “It’s not the American way for powerful corporations to strong-arm local broadcasters to air lies promoting a political agenda,” Kerry spokesman David Wade said. Sinclair is airing the program because it is “newsworthy,” and it not being paid to air it, the NY Times adds. Sinclair owns Baltimore’s Channel 45/WBFF, a Fox affiliate, and operates Channel 54/WNUV, a WB outlet. More in the Baltimore Sun and at stolenhonor.com…..
The Washington Post this morning picks up the story and adds a bit of history about Sinclair, a company that makes Fox look lefty.
Sinclair’s top executives, including members of the controlling Smith family, have been strong financial supporters of Bush’s campaign. The company made news in April when it ordered seven of its ABC-affiliated stations not to air a “Nightline” segment that featured a reading of the names of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq; a Sinclair executive called that broadcast “contrary to the public interest.”
Sinclair also is one of the few station-group owners that puts corporate opinion on its local newscasts. Hyman delivers conservative commentaries called “The Point.”
