It's The Media, Stupid.
Timothy Karr, www.mediachannel.org: "Sinclair
Broadcast Group on Thursday ordered its eight ABC
affiliates to pre-empt Friday's "Nightline" broadcast
of the reading of the names of US military personnel
killed in Iraq, saying the program is "motivated by a
political agenda designed to undermine the efforts of
the United States in Iraq...If the Sinclair Broadcasting Group's track record of political contributions is any indication, executives at the company may have their own "political agenda."
According to The Center for Responsive Politics, an
organization devoted to tracking political
contributions by individuals, PACs and corporations,
Sinclair executives give overwhelmingly to Republican
causes and candidates. Of the top twenty TV and Radio
companies to make political contributions in 2004,
Sinclair Broadcasting Group, is among the most
conservative, giving 98 percent of its $65,434 in
political contributions to GOP candidates."
Break the Bush Cabal Stranglehold on the "US
Mainstream News Media," Show Up for Democracy in 2004:
Defeat Bush (again!)
http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/affalert187.shtml
Broadcaster's Own 'Political Agenda' Plays Part in
Nightline Snub
By Timothy Karr
MediaChannel.org
NEW YORK, April 29, 2004 -- Sinclair Broadcast Group
on Thursday ordered its eight ABC affiliates to
pre-empt Friday's "Nightline" broadcast of the reading
of the names of US military personnel killed in Iraq,
saying the program is "motivated by a political agenda
designed to undermine the efforts of the United States
in Iraq."
The political leanings of Sinclair executives also may
have played a part in the company's decision to block
the popular ABC news program. In 2004, Sinclair
executives gave 98 percent of their political
contributions to GOP candidates.
In a fax to press Thursday, the Baltimore-based media
company, whose holdings include 62 local TV stations,
said that by airing Friday's Nightline program, "ABC
is disguising political statements as news content."
During the ABC News broadcast, anchorman Ted Koppel
will read aloud the names of more than 500 U.S.
service men or women who have lost their lives in the
war, as a corresponding photo appears on the screen
along with that person's name, military branch, rank
and age. In an emailed statement, ABC News
"respectfully disagreed" with Sinclair's view of the
program saying that Nightline "is dedicated to
thoughtful and balanced coverage and reports on the
events shaping our world with neither fear nor favor
-- as our audience expects, deserves, and rightly
demands."
If the Sinclair Broadcasting Group's track record of
political contributions is any indication, executives
at the company may have their own "political agenda."
According to The Center for Responsive Politics, an
organization devoted to tracking political
contributions by individuals, PACs and corporations,
Sinclair executives give overwhelmingly to Republican
causes and candidates. Of the top twenty TV and Radio
companies to make political contributions in 2004,
Sinclair Broadcasting Group, is among the most
conservative, giving 98 percent of its $65,434 in
political contributions to GOP candidates.
By comparison, Clear Channel Communications, the
conservative radio colossus run by longtime Bush
cronies Tom and Steve Hicks, has given only 75 percent
of its 2004 contributions to Republicans; Democratic
candidates have received the remaining 25 percent of
Clear Channel's political largesse.
According to the Center for Responsive Politics,
Sinclair CEO and President David Smith personally gave
$2,000, the maximum individual contribution, to
President Bush's 2004 re-election campaign. Smith has
yet to reply to MediaChannel's request for comment on
his company's political leanings.
John Dunbar of the nonpartisan Center for Public
Integrity said, "I fell out of my chair when I read
Sinclair's statement." Dunbar, whose organization
monitors and reports upon the influence of money over
politics, considers Koppel's reporting to be
politically moderate. "Based on what Sinclair did,
it's impossible not to see where their political
interests lie," he said.
The broadcasting giant reported first quarter
preliminary results for net broadcast revenues reached
$158.3 million. The Q1 increase over last year --
about $4 million more than the company expected --
came in part from $1.3 million in additional political
advertising revenues in key election states such as
Ohio, Florida, West Virginia, Illinois and Maine,
where Sinclair owns stations.
-- Timothy Karr is Executive Director of
MediaChannel.org
© MediaChannel.org, 2004. All rights reserved.
Posted by richard at April 30, 2004 01:04 PM