http://nytimes.com/2004/10/18/business/media/18sinclair.html?
hp&ex=1098158400&en=082e1118f3624803&ei=5094&partner=homepage
October 18, 2004
Risks Seen for TV Chain Showing Film About Kerry
By BILL CARTER

enator John Kerry could find his presidential hopes damaged this week when the 62 television stations owned or managed by the Sinclair Broadcasting Group carry a documentary about his antiwar activities 30 years ago.

But the Democratic nominee for the White House may not be the only one adversely affected.

Sinclair - the nation's largest owner of television stations, many of them in electoral swing states - is itself running a significant financial and political risk by telling its stations to pre-empt regular programming and carry the film. Already, Sinclair's decision has alienated some advertisers; enraged consumer and media watchdog groups, who are vowing to challenge its station licenses when they come up for renewal; and given pause to some analysts and investors considering the company's financial outlook.

Representatives of Sinclair did not return repeated phone calls seeking comment. But the company, whose executives have been among the largest media contributors to President Bush, has said the documentary deserves to be seen because it is news, and as such does not fall under federally mandated equal-time provisions for political candidates.

In the film, "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal," former prisoners of war in Vietnam call Mr. Kerry's 1971 Senate testimony a betrayal that prolonged their captivity. In that testimony, Mr. Kerry quoted other veterans talking about American atrocities.

The Kerry campaign has called the film a politically motivated attack that is unfair and inaccurate.

Last week, the Kerry campaign formally asked Sinclair for equal time to respond to the film, a move that could lead the Federal Communications Commission to consider whether to order the stations to allow a response.

Sinclair is no stranger to political controversy. In April, its eight ABC affiliates pre-empted the "Nightline" program in which Ted Koppel read aloud the names of American soldiers killed in Iraq. Sinclair declared the show "unpatriotic" and harmful to the war effort, adding that "Nightline'' was motivated by an antiwar agenda; it instead offered its ABC affiliates a special that debated the issue.

Earlier this year, Mark Hyman, the vice president for corporate relations at Sinclair who doubles as a conservative commentator on the company's newscasts, took a crew to Iraq to find what he called the untold positive news of the war. And after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Sinclair ordered newscasters at its Fox affiliate in Baltimore to read patriotic statements praising President Bush.

But the furor over "Stolen Honor'' appears to be affecting Sinclair in ways these previous actions did not. In some cities - among them, Portland, Me.; Madison, Wis.; Springfield, Ill.; and Minneapolis - local advertisers, including car dealers, furniture makers, supermarkets and restaurants, have taken their commercials off the company's stations.

"I've decided I don't want to advertise on them," said Adam Lee, the president of Lee Auto Malls, which owns 10 auto dealerships in Portland Me., and has ordered its advertising off the CBS affiliate, WGME. "It's a public trust. It seems they're abusing it. If it were a news show and they were really trying to do a fair and balanced story on both sides, that would be a different matter. I don't think they are. That's not their intention.''

Groups, including Common Cause, the Alliance for Better Campaigns, Media Access Project, Media for Democracy and the Office of Communication of the United Church of Christ, are putting together a database listing all Sinclair advertisers and will try to persuade others to withdraw their commercials. Among those on the list are chains like Applebee's International, Best Buy, Chili's, Circuit City, Domino's Pizza, Lowe's, Papa John's, Subway, Taco Bell and Wal-Mart Stores.

The groups are also vowing to find groups in cities with Sinclair stations who will challenge the broadcast licenses of every Sinclair-owned station over the next several years. Such challenges almost never result in lost licenses, but they often result in heavy legal costs for the station having to defend them.

In addition, some analysts said Sinclair might have hurt itself in the continuing battle over loosening media ownership rules, a fight in which Sinclair has been a leader. Efforts at further deregulation were stalled this year when the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, in Philadelphia, ordered the F.C.C. to reconsider its relaxation of such rules.

A report issued by the firm Legg Mason last week cited the controversy over the film and asked the question, "Is this good for investors in terms of increasing the odds for favorable deregulation?" The conclusion: "We think not."

Blair Levin, the managing director of Legg Mason and a former F.C.C. official, added in a telephone interview, "Deregulation usually happens when you do it quietly."

Leland Westerfield, a media analyst for Harris Nesbitt Gerard who has followed Sinclair since 1998, had already listed the company as an "underperforming" stock. Now, he said, the company seems to be more at risk.

"The recoil from Democrats at the F.C.C., and frankly moderate Republicans alike, suggests that Sinclair might be harming itself short term in revenues and long term in deregulation tactics," he said. "If the company intends to curry favor with the Republican free marketers and swing the scales back toward the deregulation of media, Sinclair may have harmed its own cause by hardening the resolve of the consumer advocates."

With the documentary becoming a point of contention in the presidential race, Mr. Levin said, Sinclair could face a no-win situation. If Mr. Bush is re-elected, Sinclair has created a circumstance where the deregulation it wants would be widely interpreted as what the Legg Mason report called "the Sinclair payback provision." If Mr. Kerry wins, he might try to lead the F.C.C. to consider regulations that could hurt Sinclair's position.

It appears to have only reinforced the opinions of some F.C.C. commissioners. Michael J. Copps, a Democratic commissioner on the F.C.C., said last week that Sinclair's action was "an abuse of the public trust.''

Other F.C.C. staff members said Sinclair might be more vulnerable than other companies because of the leading role it has played in exploiting certain loopholes allowing it to operate more stations in a market than regulations have allowed. Sinclair has a number of so-called L.M.A.'s, or local marketing agreements, that permit a company to program and run a second station in a market even though it does not own it.

But the F.C.C. officials said Sinclair had L.M.A.'s for five stations with the Cunningham Broadcasting Corporation; Carolyn Smith, the matriarch of the family that controls Sinclair, has an ownership position in Cunningham. The officials said the commission had been divided over the L.M.A's originally.

The controversy of the last week comes at a time when Sinclair's stock, like that of other local broadcasting companies, has already been hammered by a sluggish advertising environment and the dashing of deregulation hopes. It has fallen 53 percent this year. It dropped 7 cents, or 1 percent, on Friday to close at $7.04, near its 52-week low of $6.87. Before The Los Angeles Times first reported Sinclair's plans to show the documentary more than a week ago, the stock was at $7.50.

But several of the company's opponents predict that the comments of analysts and defections by advertisers are not likely to affect Sinclair's executives. "They don't seem to mind being criticized or questioned," said Andrew Jay Schwartzman, the president of the Media Access Project, a group that advocates greater media regulation. He and other critics noted that Sinclair has always been an unusual company, run by a family that pays little heed to conventions in the business.

Sinclair was begun by Julian Sinclair Smith in 1971 with one UHF station in Baltimore. His four sons now oversee a company that operates in 39 markets, from Columbus, Ohio, to Tampa, Fla., and last year posted net income of $24 million on revenue of $739 million. The chief executive is David D. Smith.

Mr. Westerfield said Sinclair deserved credit for being innovative in areas like digital television and for its aggressive techniques in finding ways to expand despite F.C.C. hindrances, which have resulted in the company's owning or managing two stations in 21 of 39 markets (so-called duopolies).

"I fully credit them for that pioneering spirit,'' Mr. Westerfield said, "but not for journalistic integrity."

One journalistic flashpoint has been the centralized newscast operation that feeds many of Sinclair's stations, always including the conservative commentaries by Mr. Hyman. "Fox News sells itself as a conservative contrast to the perceived liberal media," Mr. Westerfield said. But he added, "The last time I checked, local weather and the unfortunate news events you see on local television don't conform with a left or right point of view."

The company has defended its centralized newsgathering operation in the past, arguing it is an efficient way to cut the costs of local journalism and brings news to small stations that otherwise would go without and bolsters existing newscasts with material they could not afford.

Ultimately, however, most investors care little about the politics of a company, except when it interferes with making money. Barry Lucas, senior vice president for research at Gabelli & Company, a major Sinclair shareholder, summarized his philosophy as: "Make money, not news."

"My point of view is simple,'' he said. "I am apolitical on this, but I don't like to see media companies above the fold on Page 1."

"You are dealing in a business that people in public office have some influence over,'' he added. "In this case, we are talking about a regulated business by parties in Washington, and in my estimation it does not make a lot of sense to take a sharp stick and punch it in the eye of potential regulators. Those guys at Sinclair better watch out if Kerry is elected."

Geraldine Fabrikant, Jacques Steinberg and Stuart Elliott contributed reporting for this article.

Can they be that dumb?

Yes, Carla, it looks like it.

I went to the Ford Motor Company website and voiced my displeasure.

I had my eye on these Sinclair people a few years ago, while collecting news clippings for my media distortion studies. An interesting issue with them was tehir assertion as rednecks was that the rights of localism would dictate that a squeamish community might indeed wish to opt out from racy network schedules form time-to-time. In this case it was Raleigh North Carolina. which by any other standard is a really cool and hip tech-oriented community.

Nonetheless, the program director was exercizing his own taste. This local affiliate autonomous control over taste doesn't sit well with newtork higher-ups. This may indeed fit in with the agenda of the trust-busters and media watchdog groups, and we may say, yes, let the communities decide what works for them.

But I continue to be dumbfounded why FCC Commissioner Copps (a Dempcrat) is obsessed with censoring television. It's a complete waste of time, and he has diverted our efforts to halt corprate consolidation.

Sinclair has shot themeselves in the foot with this ugly slanderous material. And more than ever demsontrates the stupidity of the Fairness Doctrine being repealed by Newt Gingrich in 1996.

Now the chickens have come home to roost. We need a thorough revamp of the 1996 Telecommunicatons Act which caused the sellout of the electoral process. Kerry is saying the right things in that regard. We need to re-instate the Fairness Doctrine and the fin-syn rules. (The consolidation charts and media buying frenzy has resulted in a 180 degree flip flop in ten years: 70% of network production used to be outside comapnies. The in-house production departments at places like ABC are why you're stuck with wall-to-wall reality shows.)

See my report from attending the FCC Hearings last year.

http://www.tombarger.com/fcc.html

The consolidation chart is at
http://www.tombarger.com/fcc2.html

Because cencoring television gets attention - through not quite as much as the programs usually cencored. Deregulation will never be 'above the fold on page 1', except in industry-papers. But charging CBS for twelve frames of Janet Jacksons breast will, and the people responsible for the fine then become temporary heros for their apparent protection of decency.

Back to the program: Sinclair might have harmed themselves slightly, particually if they fail. But if Bush wins the election, the media industry as a whole will benefit. Which we dont want.

Another banner day for Sinclair Broadcasting stock(down about 2%): http://www.atrios.blogspot.com/

Did anyone see the Ted Koppel "Nightline" episode.. (which airs on our local Sinclair station.. ) where he actually sent a crew TO the villages in Viet-Nam where this swift boat action took place, and the local folks agreed with Kerry's version. Hmmmmm ..... and thank you Tom for your good works.

Is everyone passing judgment without having seen the documentary? Had the New York Times screened it? I saw no evidence that they had.

They are arguing in ignorance.

But even if it is the worst kind of demagogic political commercial, so what? Michael Moore's movie has been screened far and wide. Turnabout is not fair play, even if this film is an example of the worst case scenario?

Agree or disagree, one must credit Sinclair with putting their convictions over mere profit. Isn't that what we'd like to see MORE of in the news business?

I'd like to see the CBS Evening News do a week long series on the number of people killed by prescription drug side effects, mistakes and interactions. There are 1000 times more people dying every year from priscription drug incidents than have died in the entire Iraq war. But they won't do it because at least half the sponsorship of Dan Rather's program is from drug advertising.

So Sinclair operates from a point of view, and programs according to that point of view. So what? You guys are always telling people who don't like Howard Stern they could just turn off the radio. Same goes for Sinclair stations airing conservative-friendly documentaries.

Media is in a position of power in this country, and should be held responsible for their fairness, or at least attempted fairness. This is not a "news" story, it's OLD news. It's a smear job, an attempt to influence, just like lobbying. Why is different from "Fahrenheit 9/11?" Exactly what you've already been told, again and again. If you wanted to see "Fahrenheit" you had to go to a movie theater and pay to see it. It was not broadcast on public airwaves. A media company that doesn't at least attempt to appear to be fair, is misusing its power, and the FCC is guilty of aiding and abetting.

Thank you, ShadowMom. "Sinclair Broadcasting Group (SBGI) created an uproar last week when it announced its plans to force its affiliate stations to preempt regularly scheduled programming and air an anti-Kerry documentary, titled "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal," just days before the election." http://www.sinclairwatch.net/
SBGI 6.44 -0.60 -8.51%

Anti-Kerry Film Producer Accused of Libel
Mon Oct 18,11:18 AM ET

By DAVID B. CARUSO, Associated Press Writer

PHILADELPHIA - A Vietnam veteran shown in a documentary criticizing Sen. John Kerry (news - web sites)'s anti-war activities filed a libel lawsuit against the movie's producer Monday, saying the film falsely calls the veteran a fraud and a liar.


Kenneth J. Campbell, now a professor at the University of Delaware, said in the suit that "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal" combines footage of him appearing at a 1971 war protest with narration that claims that many of the supposed veterans who took part in the event were later "discovered as frauds" who "never set foot on the battlefield, or left the comfort of the States, or even served in uniform."

The suit said viewers would be left with the perception that Campbell had lied about his military service.

Campbell attached copies of his military records to the lawsuit, showing that he received a Purple Heart and eight other medals, ribbons and decorations for his service in Vietnam.
Film producer Carlton Sherwood's company, Red White and Blue Productions, did not immediately return a call on Monday seeking comment.
Campbell also threatened legal action against the Sinclair Broadcast Group, an owner of 62 television stations that has announced that it intends to pre-empt regular programming to broadcast "Stolen Honor."
The film explores Kerry's 1971 testimony before the Senate and links him to anti-war activist and actress Jane Fonda. Vietnam prisoners of war claim in the film that his testimony demeaned them and led to prisoners being held longer.


The Democratic National Committee (news - web sites) filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (news - web sites) contending that airing the film should be considered an illegal in-kind contribution to the Bush campaign. Kerry's presidential campaign asked that each station carrying the program provide a similar amount of time to Kerry supporters.
Sinclair has contended that the program is news and has invited Kerry to appear on a post-broadcast program. Kerry has declined.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20041018/ap_on_el_pr/kerry_film

What's everyone got their panties in a bunch for? Mike Moore does it, & folks are dancing in the streets. Someone else does the same job on Senator Kerry, & folks start crying dirty pool. Can't have it both ways kiddies.

If Mike Moore wanted to counter Sinclair's broadcasting, he'd offer up Fahrencrap 9-11 for FREE. But since he's only real agenda is separating "stupid Americans" (his opinion) from their hard-earned money, he won't.

In the immortal words of Dave Chappelle playing Rick James:
"Now darkness, the tables are turned! Do with him what you will!"

"I've decided I don't want to advertise on them," said Adam Lee, the president of Lee Auto Malls, which owns 10 auto dealerships in Portland Me., and has ordered its advertising off the CBS affiliate, WGME. "It's a public trust. It seems they're abusing it. If it were a news show and they were really trying to do a fair and balanced story on both sides, that would be a different matter. I don't think they are. That's not their intention.''


Obviously this guy doesn't watch the news. There is no "fair & balanced" reporting. Reporters, editors, etc. all put their personal spin on things. See BS & Dumb Rather even went as far as to use forged documents to attack Pres. Bush.
Sinclair has offered Kerry a chance to respond, but he chickened out, since those pictures of him ratting out fellow veterans will damn him in the polls come November 2nd.

john.. I don't think so.. Bush lied. and I don't like liars..

I agree with John. Michael Moore got plenty of free publicity for his so-called "documentary." People saw his film and were dancing in the streets. Those same folks now whine about a so-called "news" story, since it might hurt their candidate. Sinclair offered the Kerry camp a chance to respond, they declined, end of story.

Kerry should tell his side of the story???!! WTF. How about answeringt "how often do you beat your wife."

Comparing Michael Moore's film to this shows a lack of understanding of the issue. Fahrenheit 9-11 isn't being broadcast on the public airwaves, this film is. There are different rules for motion pictures released in theaters and those broadcast on the air. If you don't like those rules, work to change them, the media conglomerates certainly are. Don't sit there and argue theater = television, you know good and well that it doesn't and you come off sounding ignorant and from previous postings on other topics I don't think you are.

This vet will vote come Nov. Chicken little Bush is what he is. It's all find and dandy to show "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal" But right before it show Moore's film 9-11. Free is free and fair is fair. I'm the war president he never seen war. Beside we as a nation should be leading the world. Not by lairing to the people and going to war. War will never solve anything. With this terrorist alert never going to green, and with all these propaganda announcements to keep people afraid is not what i find to be truth full. My civil rights should never be taken away. Terrorism has been going on for over two thousand years. Do you really think Bush will end it. Come on now wise up and smell the coffee.

"Michael Moore's movie has been screened far and wide."
We're talking TV, different medium than film. Besides, I don't think anyone here will differ in that Moore's movie was also propoganda. I haven't seen it, don't really plan to, but that film never once tossed aside regular schedules because it was news program.

"I agree with John. Michael Moore got plenty of free publicity for his so-called "documentary." "
Which is why it did so well. Don't blame Moore or his supporters or the press for it. Blame the people who went to the press to complain about the movie. It was like people who complained to the press that Mel Gibson's movie was Anti-Semetic. It got his film tens of millions of dollars on opening day alone. (Personally I think 'Passion' stank, but that's me). Curiosity is what drives people. Complain loud enough and people will want to check out what the fuss is about.

"Sinclair offered the Kerry camp a chance to respond, they declined, end of story."
They offered an interview type agenda with a right to edit. Not the same. The law specifies they receive the SAME. If Sinclaire is going to offer a 90 minute spot for pro-Bush people to release what they want, then Sinclair should allow pro-Kerry people a 90 minute spot.

Several people have reviewed this film and state there are anti Kerry statements and one vet is sueing both the filmmaker and Sinclaire for libel. At the same time the below message has been on Sinclair's website for some time. Guess they better update it, cat's out of the bag.

From Sinclair website:
"We welcome your comments regarding the upcoming special news event featuring the topic of Americans held as prisoners of war in Vietnam. The program has not been videotaped and the exact format of this unscripted event has not been finalized. Characterizations regarding the content are premature and are based on ill-informed sources."


I've copied this statement and printed out their website. Perhaps I'll sue them when the show airs and it turns out the characterizations weren't premature and ill-informed.



The biggest problem I have with Sinclaire is... why does it exist? They keep buying up markets and are now in charge of over 24% of the TV markets in the country. Isn't this something called MONOPOLY??


Although no news agency is immune to being biased, this doesn't make this okay. We need to let the media know that it's time they did their job and told us the truth. The media is getting worse than the polititians.

"...since those pictures of him ratting out fellow veterans will damn him in the polls come November 2nd"
By your words you acknowledge that what Kerry said 30 years ago is correct. To some, these things happened in Vietnam, to others it didn't. Unfortunately we will never know the truth. I know men who spent tours in Nam. Some saw the autrocities first hand, some didn't see a thing.
The main unfortunate thing is Bush and his supporters are trying to cover up current events with this. To hell with what Kerry said 30 years ago, what about what our President said less than 3 years ago... there are WMD in Iraq; Iraq is trying to buy nuclear weapons; Iraq is supporting Al Qaeda. All lies, even the president and the vice president themselves just a week ago admitted it was false. If telling what he saw during wartime is all the pro-Bushers have to attack Kerry with, that's just damn pathetic.
The money to make this film probably came from the Veterans fund. That's why we've got kids who got limbs blown off in Iraq living in their cars or panhandling to pay their bills 'cause they don't have arms to get a job and haven't received their supliments from the military. As a matter of fact, the military is even asking some of these kids to pay back their enlistment bonus' because they DIDN'T FULLFILL THEIR ENLISTMENT AGREEMENT. What? Both arms and a kidney isn't enough??????

On Friday night's Jay Leno show, Michael Moore offered Farenheit 9-11 to Sinclair to show it for FREE, just to show how fair and balanced they are.

So there.

That does seem fair. One side's propaganda to offset the other.

Jonathan Leiberman was fired for speaking to the media and objecting to the "documentary" being portrayed as news, and he felt that it was inappropriate to try to sway the election this way. Paula Zahn is interviewing him tonight.

I personally am 100 percent behind :
1) Boycotting Sinclair stations
2) Boycotting any and all companies choosing to purchase advertising time on any Sinclair station...

I think I will look into these "Sinclair stations" more...
http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B8818E087-A326-4977-911E-CF6ACCB2B203%7D&siteid=google&dist=google
"Sinclair stock drops on ad concerns
By Jon Friedman, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 4:44 PM ET Oct. 18, 2004
E-mail it | Print | Alert | Reprint | RSS

NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Shares of the controversial Sinclair Broadcasting Group slipped almost 8 percent Monday in the aftermath of the political firestorm that the company created last week.



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Sinclair's stock (SBGI: news, chart, profile) fell 55 cents to $6.49.

The shares dropped amid fresh concerns on Wall Street, with analysts fretting over what looms as a loss of advertising revenue for Sinclair. Some securities analysts, who demanded not to be quoted on record, said that they're concerned about the potential development.

Sinclair, which owns the largest chain of TV stations in the United States, had told its stations to broadcast a documentary that accuses Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry of betraying American prisoners during the Vietnam War.

The film, titled "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal," is to be shown during prime-time hours before the Nov. 2 election. The stations owned by Sinclair reach approximately 24 percent of U.S. television households.

"Stolen Honor" focuses on Kerry's 1971 antiwar testimony to Congress about U.S. atrocities and suggests that it hurt Americans who were still being held in Vietnam.

Kerry's campaign has called the documentary "lies" and "a smear."

The media and the entertainment industry have often found themselves in the spotlight in the run-up to this year's presidential election.

Sinclair told its ABC-affiliated stations in April not to air a "Nightline" program, which read the names of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq.

Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11," which was critical of the administration's handling of Iraq, was the most successful documentary ever, earning more than $100 million at the box office.

The Sundance Channel showed live segments last Monday from the anti-Bush "Vote for Change" rock concert tour, which features performances by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band and R.E.M.

Further, CBS News apologized under pressure last month, saying it couldn't verify the authenticity of documents it used in a segment dealing with President Bush's National Guard service record."

http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/20208/
"Sinclair's Shame

By Don Hazen, AlterNet. Posted October 18, 2004.


Angry citizens are hitting the right-wing broadcasting company where it hurts – in the wallet. Story Tools
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More stories by Don Hazen


In the world of right-wing corporate media, Sinclair Broadcasting has long been overshadowed by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. and its cable mouthpiece Fox News.

But not any more.

Sinclair Broadcasting Group (SBGI) created an uproar last week when it announced its plans to force its affiliate stations to preempt regularly scheduled programming and air an anti-Kerry documentary, titled "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal," just days before the election. It was a blatantly partisan move on the part of a company that owns 62 stations, many of which are in the critical swing states of Ohio, Florida, Iowa and Wisconsin. For example, in the highly contested state of Ohio, there are Sinclair stations in Cincinnati, Dayton and Columbus.

Sinclair became an instant cause celebre, as diverse groups, individuals and activists instantly banded together to protest its decision. Within days, a vital and energetic grassroots movement was born.

A number of fast-acting blogs and web sites, including Daily Kos and Democratic Underground, quickly compiled lists of contact information to allow outraged citizens to take action. Others immediately constructed a web site, Boycottsbg.com, with a database of Sinclair advertisers so individuals could contact these companies and directly threaten to boycott their businesses if they did not pull their ads from Sinclair.

According to the media advocacy group Media Matters, an estimated 100,000 calls have been made to advertisers. And it's already taking effect – companies are pulling their ads in various parts of the country, including Maine and Wisconsin. According to the Portland Press Herald in Maine, Sinclair television station WGME's plan to air the anti-Kerry documentary prompted three Maine companies – Hannaford supermarkets, the Lee Auto Malls, and the law offices of Joe Bornstein – to pull their advertising from the Portland TV station.

Hitting Sinclair Where It Hurts

The rapidly growing, aggressive advertising boycott effort has already had a measurable financial impact on Sinclair, whose stock dropped 10 percent over the past week, closing on Friday at an all-time low of $7.04 – a $60 million loss in value.

The boycott is just one among Sinclair's increasing list of woes. A financial analyst from Lehman Brothers has warned that showing the film is "potentially damaging, both financially and politically." William M. Meyers wrote in his analysis for the company: "In a best case scenario, we believe that this decision could result in lost ad revenues. In a worst case scenario ... the decision may lead to higher political risk. As management has increased the company's political risk, we are reducing our 12-month price target to $9 (from $10)."
=============SNIP======================
The CodeWarrior will be adding his voice in opposition to these Sinclair ASSHOLES and I will urge anyone reading any of my blogs to avoid purchasing any products from any advertiser on any Sinclair station.

For my fellow Texans...the following stations are part of the Sinclair group and of course, I would urge my fellow Texans to reconsider any advertiser on:

37 KABB
Owned And Operated 29 30 FOX www.kabb.com
KRRT
Owned And Operated 35 32 WB www.krrt.com

Contact Information
4335 NW Loop 410
San Antonio, TX 78229
(210)366-1129

http://sbgweb2.sbgnet.com/business/television.shtml
Their friendly little map will assist you in figuring out what people NOT to patronize and what stations NOT to watch.

BOYCOTT THEIR ASS TO THE POOR HOUSE
http://www.boycottsbg.com/

http://www.boycottsbg.com/advertisers/default.aspx

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Einstein PCS Website add
Elizabeth Arden Salon Holdings, Inc. 1-800-592-7336 eascsr@rdspas.com
ESL Federal Credit Union (800) 848-2265 (585) 336-1000 Website intserv@esl.org
Fazoli's 1-859-268-1668 Website Patti.Briggs@fazolis.com
Florida Lottery 1-850-487-7727 Website asklott@flalottery.com
Ford Motor Company 800-392-3673 Website crcfmc@customersupportctr.com
FreeStyle Flash 510-749-5400 Website service@therasense.com
Geico 1-800-824-5404 Website contactmarketing@geico.com
General Mills (763) 764-7600 612-540-7092 Website kirstie.foster@genmills.com
Gillette Company 1-800-GILLETTE Website michael_baratta@gillette.com
Glaxo Smith Kline 1 888 825 5249 Website csr.contact@gsk.com
GMC 1-800-462-8782 cac@gmc.com
Harrah's Casino 1-800-HARRAHS Website investors@harrahs.com
Hyundai 800-826 CARS local dealer Website resumes@hmmausa.com
Iams Pet Food (800) 675-3849 Website customer.service@iams.com
IDT 1-800-667-5401 Website pr@idt.com
Injury Helpline 1-800-560-5516 add
International Academy of Design Technology 1-866-425-5449 Website add
Invention Submission Corporation 1-888-648-IDEA Website licensing@intromark.com
ISC-Invention Submission Corp. 1-800-203-IDEA Website add
ITT Tech (805) 520-7200 Website nbrown@ittesi.com
Jim Barkley Toyota 828-667-8888 Website sales@jimbarkleytoyota.com
Johnson & Johnson 1-800-355-3013 treynol3@ethus.jnj.com
Kao Brands 203-353-5100 Website monica.rowe@kaobrands.com
Kings Auto Mall 513-683-5440 18 car dealers Website add
LA Weight Loss Centers 1-800-526-SLIM add
Liberty Medical 1-866-836-9935 Website add
Liberty Medicare 1-800-225-1070 add
Life Alert 800-815-5922 Website add
LoChiatto's Restaurant 828-650-9797 add
LoChiatto's Restaurant 828-650-9797 add
Long John Silvers (502) 874-8200 Website yum.investor@yum.com
Lowes 1-800-445-6937 Website webeditor@lowes.com
Marks and Harrison 804-282-0999 804-748-0999 Website lawyers@marksandharrison.com
Mattel, Inc. 310-252-2000 Website service@mattel.com
Medical Careers Institute 804-521-0400 757-873-2423 757-497-8400 Website add
Meineke Car Care Centers 704-377-8855 Website web_administrator@meineke.com
Menards - Tammy Polzine (715) 876-5911 Website add
Mile One Automotive 866-645-3663 Website info@mileone.com
Miller Brewing Co. 414-931-2000 Website gary.leibowitz@sabmiller.com
nationwide insurance 614 249-7111 Website add
NetZero 1-888-349-0029 feedback@support.netzero.net
Nissan North America 310-771-3111 Website add
Papa John's 1-502-261-7272t Website add
Patties Panties (493)555-1293 Website add
People PC Online 1-888-587-9669 Website member.services@peoplepc.com
Pfizer, Inc. (212) 573-2323 fx: 212 5737851 Website ccfeedback@pfizer.com
Philips Inc (40 532-3921 add
Procter & Gamble 513-983-1100 Website add
Progressive Auto Insurance 1-800-776-4737 440-395-1076 386-947-5158 Website add
Prudent Choice health Care 1-800-314-7890 add
Regis Corp. 952-947-7777 Website investorrelations@regiscorp.com
Rentway, Inc. 1-800-RENTWAY 814-455-5378 Website add
Safe Auto Insurance Company (614) 231-0200 800-SAFE-AUTO Website JamesP@safeauto.com
SC Johnson Scrubbing Bubbles 1-800-494-4855 262-260-3709 262-260-4402 consumerproducts@SCJ.com
Select Comfort Corp. 763-551-7000 Website add
Skyland Automotive 828-667-5213 Website skylandauto@bellsouth.net
Sonic (405) 225-5000 (816) 842-1500 Website sonicpr@sonicdrivein.com
Spherion 954 308-7600 410-752-5244 410- 752-8369 Website nicoledunn@spherion.com
State Farm 1-877-734-2265 Website info@statefarm.com
Stone Street Capital 1-888-LUMP-SUM Website info@stonestreet.com
Subaru - complete contact info 1-800-SUBARU3 Website add
Subway (203) 877-4281 (800) 888-4848 Website asksubway@subway.com
Taco Bell/Yum! Brnads Inc 502 874-2543 1-800-tacobell Website Amy.Sherwood@Yum.Com
The Dick James Law Firm 800-988-9842 add
The Lawyer's Group 800-677-2020 Website deborahh@lawyersgroup.com
The Wish Center Surgical Program 888-854-9474 937-885-9474 Weight Loss Website infooh@wishcenter.org
Time Domain Inc. 888-826-8378 (Sinclair owns equity stake) Website add
Time Warner Road Runner of Rochester 585-756-1608 Website brian.wirth@twcable.com
Toyota Consumer Relations 800-331-4331 #3 Website add
Tri-Star Health Systems/HCA Mid-America 615-886-5000 615-886-4902 Website cheryl.chubbs@hcahealthcare.com
TRIMSPA® 800-467-3041 Website add
U.S. Cellular 1-888-944-9400 Website corporate@uscellular.com
United Financial Management Group, Inc. 1-800-567-2630 add
Value City Department Stores Inc. (614) 471-4722 Website corpjobs@valuecity.com
Victoria's Secret 1.800.411.5116 service@victoriassecret.com
Volkswagen +49 (0) 5361 97 Reinhold.Kopp@ Corp/Gvt Relat Website reinhold.kopp@volkswagen.de
Wachovia Bank 800-922-4684 contact.community@wachovia.com
Wal Mart 1-800-925-6278 479-273-4000 Website add
Whataburger 361-878-0650 tcoerver@wbhq.com
Wyeth Consumer Healthcare/ Advil (973) 660-6923 Website pr@wyeth.com

From
http://www.dkosopedia.com/index.php/Main_Page

Featured Article: Sinclair Broadcasting Group
A media company. According to the company's webpage [1], Sinclair's television group includes 20 FOX, 19 WB, 6 UPN, 8 ABC, 3 CBS, 4 NBC affiliates and 2 independent stations and reaches approximately 24% of all U.S. television households.

Most recently, this company has gained notoriety by ordering its 62 local stations to broadcast an anti-Kerry film, produced by Carlton Sherwood, a few days before the November 2, 2004 general election. Those 62 stations include affiliates of all six major commercial broadcast networks in Florida, Ohio, Wisconsin, Nevada and Pennsylvania. The broadcast will preempt normal prime-time programming on those outlets. Sinclair vice president Mark Hyman said on a CNN interview that John Kerry and the Democrats are like "holocaust deniers" and that if the Sinclair stunt is an "in-kind donation to George Bush" then "every suicide bomb that goes off in Iraq is an in-kind donation to John Kerry."

In April, Sinclair communications corporate counsel decided to pull a special Nightline broadcast devoted to reading the names of those fallen in combat from their 8 ABC affiliates.

MediaChannel.org reported on April 29, 2004


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.

The Sinclair stunt
According to the Washington Post, (October 11, 2004, Sinclair Stations to Air Anti-Kerry Documentary, Paul Farhi), the film entitled "Stolen Honor" "focuses on Kerry's antiwar testimony to Congress in 1971 and its effect on American POWs in Vietnam." The film is produced independently of Sinclair, and includes interviews with former POWs who say their Vietnamese captors used Kerry's comments to undercut prisoner morale.

In contrast, Sinclair suggests on its webpage that the content of the film is as yet undetermined:


The program has not been videotaped and the exact format of this unscripted event has not been finalized. Characterizations regarding the content are premature and are based on ill-informed sources.
This seems to directly contradict information from the above referenced Post report that "Stolen Honor" documentary was released in early September.

On October 12, 2004 Mark Hyman was interviewed by CNN's Bill Hemmer. In that interview, the following exchange occurred [2]


HEMMER: Democrats say this is illegal. Clearly, you do not. Why not?

HYMAN: Well, a couple of issues. First of all, we haven't even looked at a 90-minute program. But if John Kerry wants to spend 45 minutes or an hour with us, maybe we have a 90-minute program. Again, no formal format has been decided upon.

However, the accusations coming from Terry McAuliffe and others, is it because they are some elements of this that may reflect poorly on John Kerry? That it's somehow an in-kind contribution of George Bush?

If you use that logic and reasoning, that means every car bomb in Iraq would be an in-kind contribution to John Kerry. Weak job performance ratings that came out last month would have been an in- kind contribution to John Kerry. And that's just nonsense.

This is news. I can't change the fact that these people decided to come forward today. The networks had this opportunity over a month ago to speak with these people. They chose to suppress them. They chose to ignore them. They are acting like Holocaust deniers, pretending these men don't exist.
Mark Hyman's public comments comparing Democrats to Holocaust deniers has been widely condemned. For example, Abraham H. Foxman, National Director of the Anti-Defamation League condemned these comments in a public letter submitted to the Washington Post [3] in which he urged Mr. Hyman to retract his comments.


The structure of the company
The four sons of founder Julian Sinclair Smith control about 95% of the company.

David D. Smith founded Comark Communications, Inc. in 1978, a manufacturer of high power transmitters for UHF television stations. He has served as President and Chief Executive Officer since 1988 and as Chairman of the Board of Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. since September 1990. David Smith is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Sinclair Ventures, Inc., Acrodyne Communications, Inc., G1440, Inc., Summa Holdings, Ltd., KDSM, Inc., and Safe Waterways in Maryland.

On Tuesday August 13, 1996, David Smith was arrested in his hometown of Baltimore and charged with a misdemeanor sex offense. It was reported that Smith was caught being fellated by a prostitute while driving a company owned car on the Jones Falls Expressway. (August 15, 1996, Baltimore Sun,Peter Hermann; August 17, 1996, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.)

The company later issued a statement saying: "The allegations against Mr. Smith are of a personal nature. Sinclair is confident this matter will conclude in a fair and equitable resolution. The company will continue to operate under the direction of its current management." (Aug 19, 1996, Broadcasting & Cable Elizabeth A Rathbun. See also Atrios)

Officers


David D. Smith - Chief Executive Officer, President, Chairman of the Board
David B. Amy - Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
Darren Shipiro - Vice President, Sales
Nat S. Ostroff - Vice President, Technical
Donald H. Thompson - Vice President, Human Resources
J. Duncan Smith - Vice President, Secretary
Thomas I. Waters III - Vice President, Purchasing
Barry Faber - Head of Legal Department
Joe DeFeo - Vice President
M. William Butler - Vice President
Delbert R. Parks III - Vice President, Engineering
Gregg Siegel - Vice President, Sales
Mark E. Hyman - Vice President, Corporate Communications
Lucy A. Rutishauser - Vice President, Finance and Treasurer
David R. Bochenek - Chief Accounting Officer
Jeffrey W. Sleete - Vice President, Marketing
Frederick G. Smith - Vice President
Board of Directors [4]


David D. Smith, Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer
Frederick G. Smith, Vice President
J. Duncan Smith, Vice President and Secretary
Robert E. Smith, Director
Daniel C. Keith, President and Founder of the Cavanaugh Group, Inc.
Martin R. Leader, Director
Lawrence E. McCanna, Managing Partner, Gross, Mendelsohn & Associates, P.A.
Basil A. Thomas, Of Counsel, Thomas & Libowitz, P.A.

Vet Sues Over Anti-Kerry Film

PHILADELPHIA (AP) A Vietnam veteran filed a libel lawsuit Monday claiming he was falsely portrayed as a fraud and a liar in a film criticizing Sen. John Kerry's anti-war activities.

Kenneth J. Campbell, now a professor at the University of Delaware, said in the suit that "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal" combines footage of him appearing at a 1971 war protest with a voice-over that claims that many of the supposed veterans who took part in the event were later "discovered as frauds" who "never set foot on the battlefield, or left the comfort of the States, or even served in uniform."

Rest of the story here
http://cbs11tv.com/entertainment/entertainment_story_292102106.html

As soon as this program airs, I think I'll go back and get some of the old praises given to Michael Moore, kinda change a few words, should be a good review.

It's simple, if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. Kerry's actions and claims caused a lot of hurt to some real good people. gilbd is quick to point out that Kenneth J. Campbell is going to court to correct the record, why aren't you willing to give the 2.5 million men Kerry has slandered the opportunity to have their say?

The point is not what the story is about--it has two problems. First, it is NOT a "news story." It is a documentary. As such, it is most definitely in the FCC's realm. Let's call it "fair use" of the airwaves, which belong to the public. "Fair" would be equal time for Kerry's camp to answer any charges or level their own. This is blatantly one-sided and partisan, and as such the FCC should slap them down. No one is suggesting they not show the film; what we are suggesting is fair and balanced programming.

Oops, "Secondly, let's call it 'fair use"...

What a tempest in a teapot.

I guess some of you folks are really scared of people actually seeing for themselves what Kerry was actually doing after the war. I have to laugh about this in the wake of the NY Times about the "knowledge based" camp versus "faith based." It is knowledge that scares the liberals -- if this country would see what Kerry was saying after returning from Vietnam, if they could see his debate with John O'Neill on the Dick Cavett show from those times, it would not be pretty.

They would see that Kerry was preaching the same kind of "withdraw at any cost" and defeatism that he's speaking today with regard to Iraq. With Kerry as president, I don't see how we could possibly win against the terrorists. He doesn't believe in the fight, he'd damage morale. How can you win a fight you don't believe in? Also, way back in the 1970s you could see his predeliction for wanting to take America's testicles and give them to the UN. Now that is idiot thinking if I ever heard it.

Sinclair deserves an award.

My Lai Massacre
"On March 16, 1968 the angry and frustrated men of Charlie Company, 11th Brigade, Americal Division entered the village of My Lai. "This is what you've been waiting for -- search and destroy -- and you've got it," said their superior officers. A short time later the killing began. When news of the atrocities surfaced, it sent shockwaves through the US political establishment, the military's chain of command, and an already divided American public."

Slander you say, and there were more acts just as bad.

My Lai Massacre
"On March 16, 1968 the angry and frustrated men of Charlie Company, 11th Brigade, Americal Division entered the village of My Lai. "This is what you've been waiting for -- search and destroy -- and you've got it," said their superior officers. A short time later the killing began. When news of the atrocities surfaced, it sent shockwaves through the US political establishment, the military's chain of command, and an already divided American public."

Slander you say, and there were more acts just as bad.

My Lai Massacre
"On March 16, 1968 the angry and frustrated men of Charlie Company, 11th Brigade, Americal Division entered the village of My Lai. "This is what you've been waiting for -- search and destroy -- and you've got it," said their superior officers. A short time later the killing began. When news of the atrocities surfaced, it sent shockwaves through the US political establishment, the military's chain of command, and an already divided American public."

Slander you say, and there were more acts just as bad.

Sorry about posts hit button and it went nuts.

I think Sinclair should pull the whole project. it's stupid and obviously biased

I saw the Cavett show on C-Span. O'Neill is and was a jerk. A stupid, lying, bone-to-pick, ax-to-grind jerk.
Bravo to John Kerry for exposing the ugly war that VietNam was.
Shame on you apologists for war atrocities.

Carla - read this article when you get the time. It's the most mind blowing thing I've read in a while. It's all about the neocon's plan for Iraq and how it all went wrong.:

Baghdad Year Zero

Pillaging Iraq in pursuit of a neocon utopia

http://www.harpers.org/BaghdadYearZero.html

I started to read it. I have it printed out somewhere.

I agree with autodidact. Questioning the war only emboldens the enemy and is un-American.

General John Abizaid, commander of the U.S. Central Command, in charge of the war in Iraq on Meet The Press:

MR. RUSSERT: General, I know you don't want to be involved in politics, but we are in the middle of a presidential campaign and I want to get your reaction to some of the charges and countercharges from your standpoint on the ground. John Kerry said "This is the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time." President Bush says those comments embolden the enemy and send the wrong message to the troops. Do you believe that the debate about Iraq in this country emboldens the enemy and sends the wrong message to the troops?

GEN. ABIZAID: Tim, I believe that debate in our country is what our country is all about. And if we're successful out here, debate will be part of the future of Afghanistan, it'll be part of the future of Iraq and it will be part of the future of all of the Middle East. As a matter of fact, as I look around the Middle East, we're going through a revolutionary times right now and debate is happening everywhere. So that there is a debate is certainly a good thing for the peoples of the region. That there's a debate back home is a good thing for our people.

"I started to read it. I have it printed out somewhere."

I guess maybe I linked that here already. Doh.

"I have to laugh about this in the wake of the NY Times about the "knowledge based" camp versus "faith based.""

Why are you laughing? Did you read the article? The White House aide is the one who said it. Here is the excerpt:

"In the summer of 2002, after I had written an article in Esquire that the White House didn't like about Bush's former communications director, Karen Hughes, I had a meeting with a senior adviser to Bush. He expressed the White House's displeasure, and then he told me something that at the time I didn't fully comprehend -- but which I now believe gets to the very heart of the Bush presidency.

The aide said that guys like me were ''in what we call the reality-based community,'' which he defined as people who ''believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.'' I nodded and murmured something about enlightenment principles and empiricism. He cut me off. ''That's not the way the world really works anymore,'' he continued. ''We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality -- judiciously, as you will -- we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.

Who besides guys like me are part of the reality-based community? Many of the other elected officials in Washington, it would seem. A group of Democratic and Republican members of Congress were called in to discuss Iraq sometime before the October 2002 vote authorizing Bush to move forward. A Republican senator recently told Time Magazine that the president walked in and said: ''Look, I want your vote. I'm not going to debate it with you.'' When one of the senators began to ask a question, Bush snapped, ''Look, I'm not going to debate it with you.''''

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/17/magazine/17BUSH.html?pagewanted=7&oref=login

I have no problem with Sinclair airing Farenheit 9/11. Just as long as viewers can see what Kerry did when he came back from Vietnam. My father is a 21 year vet, he doesn't support Kerry at all!!

Yes, mroop, I read the whole ponderous article, all umpteen pages. So they trotted out a few of the administration's natural enemies with a few anecdotes. This is journalism? After the treatment this administration has been getting, it is no wonder they have circled the wagons. Truth is, we really don't know what's going on in those advice and strategy sessions.

Anyway, I never said questioning the war is un-American. What I meant to point out was a pattern in Kerry's thinking which I believe would make it difficult for him to win a needed victory.

Reasoning is Bush's natural enemy.

Here's and excerpt from an article that appeared today in the Miami Herald about O'Neil (The first part of the article deals with "the bulge"):
"Anyone who wades into the debate is hyperlinked to his political past. Take the salt-of-the-Earth 86-year-old onetime-secretary at the Air National Guard unit in Texas in which Lt. George W. Bush served. She said that she had typed memos (not the CBS ones) from Lt. Col. Jerry Killian criticizing Bush's absence from flight duty. But when she was identified in a New York Times story as an Al Gore voter, I wondered how many readers would bother to believe her. On the other hand, if she'd been a lifelong Republican, no one would have doubted her for a second.

Nothing helps a Democrat in trouble like a Republican, and vice versa. The most damaging accusation of the campaign -- that Kerry wasn't brave enough to earn his medals despite Navy records and the testimony of veterans who actually served on his boat -- was first undercut by the revelation that the author of Unfit for Command, John O'Neill, had been handpicked by Richard Nixon's Charles Colson to stalk Kerry in the 1970s; in other words, he was a GOP hack. O'Neill's credibility was then partly revived by his (self-serving) revelation that he was a Gore voter in 2000."
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/9954453.htm?1c

SBGI STOCK: Last 6.42 Open 6.66
Change -0.07 Previous Close 6.49
% Change -1.08% Bid 6.40

Looks like the corporate hacks at Sinclair should be watching their arses instead of their shows.
Here are two articles just out about Sinclair’s shareholders. Insider trading? Interesting. So Sinclair is not only trying to control the airwaves, but also control trading?
They seriously suck.



Sinclair Documentary Angers Shareholders:

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20041019/ap_on_el_pr/kerry_film_shareholders_1



Investors Demand Top Sinclair Execs Disgorge Proceeds From Insider Trading That Occurred Months Before Stock Plummeted:

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/usnw/20041019/pl_usnw/investors_demand_top_sinclair_execs_disgorge_proceeds_from_insider_trading_that_occurred_months_before_stock_plummeted181_xml



And if Sinclair doesn’t accept this offer, then the I hope the FCC does enter into this one.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/usnw/20041019/pl_usnw/conference_call_today__investors_to_present_sinclair_broadcasting_with_offer_to_run__going_upriver___kerry_documentary161_xml

Good links, Skippy. "Attorney William S. Lerach said he planned to sue on behalf of shareholders, alleging insider trading by top executives as well as damage from the decision to air the film."
Lerach has quite a reputation. A lot of people are upset about the plummetting stock prices. The NY comptroller sent a letter to Sinclair, as well as a law firm that had a lot of Sinclair stock.
Sinclair has backed off! http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/041019/phtu047a_1.html