[IP] Official statement from Sinclair Broadcasting and ABC's response
Delivered-To: dfarber+@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 2004 18:01:51 -0400
From: John Adams <jadams01@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Official statement from Sinclair Broadcasting and ABC's response
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
From the Poynter Institute: http://poynter.org/forum/?id=misc
Note: Sinclair Broadcasting owns eight television stations, not sixty-two,
according to this account.
All the best,
John A
see me fulminate at http://www.jzip.org/
read about two open e-voting systems at
http://www.oreillynet.com/cs/user/print/a/4807
<><><><><><><><>
Sinclair stations won't run "Nightline" tribute 4/29/2004 10:59:30 AM
NewsBlues.com is reporting [no free link] that Sinclair Broadcast Group has
ordered its ABC-affiliated stations not to carry tomorrow's "Nightline,"
which will air the names and photos of soldiers who have been killed in
combat in Iraq.
Sinclair General Counsel Barry Faber tells the site: "We find it to be
contrary to the public interest."
The boycott will affect eight ABC-affiliated Sinclair stations.
>>>>
STATEMENT OF THE SINCLAIR BROADCAST GROUP
The ABC Television network announced on Tuesday that the Friday, April 30th
edition of "Nightline" will consist entirely of Ted Koppel reading aloud
the names of U.S. servicemen and women killed in action in Iraq. Despite
the denials by a spokeswoman for the show the action appears to be
motivated by a political agenda designed to undermine the efforts of the
United States in Iraq.
While the Sinclair Broadcast Group honors the memory of the brave members
of the military who have sacrificed their lives in the service of our
country, we do not believe such political statements should be disguised as
news content. As a result, we have decided to preempt the broadcast of
"Nightline" this Friday on each of our stations which air ABC programming.
We understand that our decision in this matter may be questioned by some.
Before you judge our decision, however, we would ask that you first
question Mr. Koppel as to why he chose to read the names of the 523 troops
killed in combat in Iraq, rather than the names of the thousands of private
citizens killed in terrorists attacks since and including the events of
September 11, 2001. In his answer, you will find the real motivation behind
his action scheduled for this Friday.
ABC NEWS STATEMENT IN RESPONSE TO SINCLAIR
We respectfully disagree with Sinclair's decision to pre-empt "Nightline's"
tribute to America's fallen soldiers which will air this Friday, April 30.
The Nightline broadcast is an expression of respect which simply seeks to
honor those who have laid down their lives for this country. ABC News 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. Contrary to the statement issued by
Sinclair, which takes issue with our level of coverage of the effects of
terrorism on our citizens, ABC News and all of our broadcasts, including
"Nightline," have reported hundreds of stories on 9-11. Indeed, on the
first anniversary of 9-11, ABC News broadcast the names of the victims of
that horrific attack.
In sum, we are particularly proud of the journalism and award winning
coverage ABC News has produced since September 11, 2001. ABC News will
continue to report on all facets of the war in Iraq and the War on
Terrorism in a manner consistent with the standards which ABC News has set
for decades.
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