On Monday, the Sinclair Broadcasting Group created a media frenzy for its decision to pre-empt primetime broadcasting on each of it's stations to air an anti-Kerry documentary before the November elections. By Tuesday, its stock had dropped more than 4 percent to 7.36, only its second drop below 7.7 this year.
Although the DailyKos Web site and a number of other liberal blogs will gladly take credit (within hours of the announcement they had suggested that concerned citizens threaten to cash out of the mutual funds who owned the most stock), Sinclair has been taking a nose dive on Wall Street since the end of April. Until April, their price oscillated around 13. That ended when the Sinclair owned ABC affiliates were ordered not to air a \Nightline"" episode which listed each of the fallen American soldiers in Iraq.
Ironically, this was done under the guise of impartiality ""[O]ur decision was based on a desire to stop the misuse of their sacrifice to support an anti-war position with which most, if not all, of these soldiers would not have agreed,"" Sinclair's president and CEO, David D. Smith wrote to Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz, ""...In fact, we will be replacing ""Nightline"" this evening with a balanced report addressing both sides of this controversy... It is ""Nightline's"" failure to present the entire story, however, to which Sinclair objects. ""Nightline"" is not reporting news; it is doing nothing more than making a political statement.""
But the upcoming documentary is in no way in the interest of a ""balanced"" newscast. Its narrator, Carlton Sherwood, is a former employee of Tom Ridge and a close personal friend. ""My relationship with Tom (Ridge), and it's a good relationship, was based on our shared experiences as combat veterans,"" Sherwood told The Associated Press.
Sinclair went on to promise that the documentary, titled ""Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal,"" was made after cutting contact with the Secretary of Homeland Security.
Sinclair, in fact, has made few bones about its conservative slant. The Washington Post reported that the media owner ordered news anchors to read editorials backing the Bush administration in 2001. This year, it sent a Vice President to Iraq to find news that would counter the liberal media. 97 percent of Smith's and Sinclair's executive's donations went to Republicans and Bush.
If this documentary is meant to sway voters, it is an illegal corporate gift to the Bush campaign. That's why Sinclair has responded to this accusation by claiming the documentary is a ""news event."" They have even invited Senator Kerry to participate.
The move has caused a public outcry, leading FCC Commissioner Michael Copps to condemn the program. ""This is an abuse of the public trust,"" the commissioner's press release said. ""And it is proof positive of media consolidation run amok when one owner can use the public airwaves to blanket the country with its political ideology-whether liberal or conservative."" Eighteen Democratic senators sent a complaint to the Federal Communications Commission today, as have liberal activists sent letters asking Sinclair's licenses be revoked. Kerry aide Chad Clanton told Fox News, ""They better hope we don't win.""
As its 62 stations range the alphabet of networks, from ABC to UPN to Madison's own Fox 47, Sinclair will pre-empt different networks in different places. Sinclair estimates on its Web site that its content reaches 24 percent of the nation. More than 10 of its stations are in swing states.
Whether its intentions are political, the outcome will most certainly be. With a huge reach, the Sinclair networks may shift the election.
