Shareholders Push Sinclair to Amend Plans


2 hours, 45 minutes ago
By ALEX DOMINGUEZ, Associated Press Writer
BALTIMORE - Threatened with a shareholder revolt, Sinclair Broadcast said it will not broadcast in its entirety a documentary critical of John Kerry (news - web sites)'s anti-war activities, but will instead incorporate parts of the 42-minute film into a news special.
Parts of the film "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal," will be shown during a program examining the use of documentaries to influence elections, Sinclair said Tuesday. The company said media reports that the entire film was be shown were "inaccurate."
The announcement came hours after shareholders challenged Sinclair's plans to air the film, saying the controversial broadcast may hurt their investment. Critics have also called for an advertiser boycott.
Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc., the owner of 62 television stations that reach a quarter of U.S. households, has been criticized for ordering the stations to pre-empt regular programming to air the show.
"A POW Story: Politics, Pressure and the Media," will examine the "role of the media in filtering the information contained in these documentaries, allegations of media bias by media organizations that ignore or filter legitimate news and the attempts by candidates and other organizations to influence media coverage," the company said in a statement.
It will air Friday on 40 of the company's stations, including many in key swing states for the presidential election. A company spokesman had previously said the company planned to air some or all of the film.
Sinclair fired its Washington bureau chief Monday after he publicly criticized the company's plans.
"We have not ceded, and will not in the future cede, control of our news reporting to any outside organization or political group," said Joe DeFeo, Sinclair's vice president of news.
The Democratic National Committee (news - web sites) filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (news - web sites), arguing that the broadcast should be considered an illegal in-kind contribution to the Bush campaign.
Sinclair said executives met recently with senior Kerry campaign officials but the campaign has declined to participate in the program.
Meanwhile, a lawyer 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. Media Matters, a media advocacy group, announced it was underwriting the costs of a shareholder action demanding equal time for opposing views.
The company did not directly address the insider trading accusation, but CEO David Smith said executives "have endured personal attacks of the vilest nature."
Eighteen senators, all Democrats, wrote last week to the Federal Communications Commission (news - web sites) to ask it to investigate Sinclair's plans. The agency declined to intervene.
New York Comptroller Alan Hevesi, also a Democrat, sent a letter expressing concern to Sinclair on behalf of the state's pension fund, which owns shares in the broadcasting company.
Sinclair stock has dropped to less than $7 a share, from a high of more than $15 a share in January.
Two groups offered programs Tuesday to Sinclair to air in response to its news special. California philanthropist Deborah Rappaport and her husband offered to pay for an hour of air time for the documentary "Going Upriver," a positive portrayal of Kerry's service in Vietnam, before the Nov. 2 election day.
Mother Jones Magazine offered Sinclair a half-hour video of four prominent Republicans — including John Dean and Pete Peterson — condemning the Bush administration

Not only that.....their executives have been threatened in very vile ways. You liberals and Democrats should be so proud: freedom of speech thwarted yet again on your behalf and through your vile and threatening actions. And your victims: former POW's. How proud you must be.

So, now.....don't ya be biatching when we give Dan Rather, ABC and Michael Moore a hard time for their coverage, okie dokie?

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"This is a time for a national imperative not to fail in Iraq." Condoleeza Rice, January 11, 2007

First of all, they pulled the program because their stock was plummeting. That means that their shareholders didn't agree with them airing a program as NEWS that is OPINION and should be considered COMMENTARY! If they did the same thing with Farenheit 9/11 and decided to air it as NEWS and force their affiliates to air it, I would have the same problem. All Sinclair had to do was air the piece as commentary and it wouldn't even be an issue. But that's not what they wanted to do. They want to present someone's COMMENTARY as NEWS. By the way, Sinclair is chosing not to air the program because their stock is going in the toilet. They have not been banned from airing this program. It has NOTHING to do with free speech. They are free to air the program. They just don't want to lose more money.

By the way, isn't this the same company that refused to air ABC's special program honoring the soldiers that died in Iraq because it doesn't want to appear political?

I agree. The shareholders protested and won. That in itself is a good example of how protest and boycotting can be an effective way of getting results. This was a classic case of free speech practice vs. free speech practice and the shareholders won.

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lambaste me not

to JP5's inane and falacious rant

[quote]JP5 wrote (View Post):
Not only that.....their executives have been threatened in very vile ways. You liberals and Democrats should be so proud: freedom of speech thwarted yet again on your behalf and through your vile and threatening actions. And your victims: former POW's. How proud you must be.

So, now.....don't ya be biatching when we give Dan Rather, ABC and Michael Moore a hard time for their coverage, okie dokie?

BYRDIE WROTE
Byrdie you put it to JP5 and her ilk with absolutely perfect facts and logic.
Her ilk are those who cannot formulate an argument therefore they resort to name calling and think that just saying "LIBERAL" or Democrats somehow explains things. There are those on the left who do the same thing by calling people Fascists or Right Wings wackos etc.

Have you noticed that Bush has been running around mumbling Liberal liberal everywhere ? Well that is what the RNC tells them to do so the Pavlovian base can salivate when they hear the word liberal .

Those Democrats have finally used what was once the Republicans tool - the free marketplace.

Yeah, just like when we threatened CBS (for planning to air The Reagans) "in very vile ways" and thwarted their freedom of speech. No, wait...that was the Republicans.
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Boycott Sinclair

So are you saying you were comfortable with the fact that CBS was taking "artistic license" with the facts of Reagan's life when making their movie? Or are you comfortable with the fact that they were going to air it while Reagan was on his death bed?

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"The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left."
Ecclesiastes 10:2 (NIV)

So....let me get this straight: it's COMMENTARY when a station wants to air a special about John Kerry's anti=war activities and how it affected pow's at the time (all TRUE and ACTUAL events that no one else wants to cover)....and yet it's NEWS when Dan Rather runs a piece on George W. Bush's 30 yr old military record.........using forged documents and discounting ALL information that discredited their story. I didn't hear ANY Democrat getting upset over that. In fact....all I saw was their defending Dan Rather and CBS.

What I understood is that what Sinclair was going to run was clearly a Documentary. A historical documentary. It wasn't going to be on a NEWS program. But I guess that POW's.....men who served this country....men who were tortured for NOT saying the kinds of things that John Kerry came home and said of his country......is something that liberals and Democrats applaud. Disgusting....

I hope vets take notice and come out to the polls in droves. I think they will.

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"This is a time for a national imperative not to fail in Iraq." Condoleeza Rice, January 11, 2007

[quote="f100supersabr";p="80681"]to JP5's inane and falacious rant

Sad that you are so ASHAMED of what you are. I'm PROUD to say I'm conservative. Too bad Dems can't bring themselves to even use the word, LIBERAL. I guess it's a dirty word.....even to them.

BTW, Sinclair is STILL showing a good portion of it. So......what did you win?

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"This is a time for a national imperative not to fail in Iraq." Condoleeza Rice, January 11, 2007

Actually, you are ALL wrong...

Sinclair is and has been selling "Stolen Honor"

They intended to show excerpts and have commentary provided by POWs...

Now Sinclair intends to show excerpts, have commentary by POWs, and commentary on how people try to shape public opinion... read all the sinclair statements carefully....

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I was banned from godlike productions(over 400 times)... and loved it.

"I haven't made you angry, have I?" -Malcolm Reynolds