Home > ACTION ALERT: What Sinclair Doesn’t Want You to See on Nightline
ACTION ALERT: What Sinclair Doesn’t Want You to See on Nightline
by Open-Publishing - Monday 3 May 2004This evening, ABC’s Nightline broadcast will be devoted
to reading a list of U.S. soldiers who have died in
Iraq. But some viewers won’t be able to see the
program: The Sinclair Broadcast Group, which owns
several ABC affiliates, has announced that it will not
air Nightline on its stations tonight.
A statement on Sinclair’s website explains: "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."
Sinclair’s rationale for the censorship of Nightline is
explicitly political: "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." A
response statement from ABC said that the network did
broadcast a list of the victims of the September 11
attacks on the one-year anniversary.
This is not the first time that Sinclair’s conservative
political leanings — 98 percent of its 2004 political
contributions have gone to Republicans
(MediaChannel.org, 4/29/04)— have led the company into
journalistic controversy. In February, a Sinclair news
crew was sent to Iraq to cover the "good news" that was
allegedly going unreported in the rest of the media
(Baltimore Sun, 2/18/04). And shortly after the
September 11 attacks, Sinclair executives required
stations to air editorial statements in support of the
Bush administration (Extra!, 11-12/01).
Sinclair controls about 60 TV stations, including eight
ABC affiliates, some in substantial population centers:
WSYX— Columbus, Ohio KDNL— St. Louis, Mo. WXLV—
Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point, N.C. WEAR—
Mobile, AL & Pensacola, Fla. WLOS— Asheville, N.C.
WCHS— Charleston & Huntington, W.V. WGGB— Springfield,
Mass. WTXL— Tallahassee, Fla.
It’s possible that some Nightline viewers, faced with
how many American lives have been lost in Iraq, may
become opposed to the war. It’s also possible that
others will see the show as an argument for fighting and
winning in Iraq, so that these deaths will not have been
in vain. Journalists, however, should not decide whether
to report the reality of a war depending on what they
assume the political reaction might be. The American
people need full reporting on the situation in Iraq—
including the toll in U.S. and Iraqi lives— so that
they can make an informed judgment on whether the war’s
goals are worth the costs.
Sinclair may claim that it honors the memory of the dead
members of the military. It evidently prefers, however,
that they should be remembered without being mentioned—
a dishonorable position for a media outlet in a
democratic country.
ACTION: Contact the Sinclair Broadcast Group and share
your thoughts about the company’s decision to censor the
April 30 Nightline broadcast for political reasons.
CONTACT: Sinclair Broadcast Group Phone: 410-568-1500
Sinclair-owned TV station WLOS has announced that it
will pass along email messages to Sinclair— send your
comments to:
WLOS mailto:news@wlos.com
As always, please remember that your comments are taken
more seriously if you maintain a polite tone. Please cc
fair@fair.org with your correspondence.