Debate Over 'Nightline' Tribute to War Dead Grows, as McCain Weighs In

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/01/business/media/01TUBE.html

Senator McCain made public a letter he had sent to the chief executive of Sinclair, one of the country's largest owners of local television stations. He wrote that he found Sinclair's removal of the "Nightline" news program from the eight ABC affiliates it owns "deeply offensive."



Yesterday, Sinclair's executives did not back down. For most of the day it was impossible to get calls through to the main number at the company's headquarters in Baltimore. Company executives did not respond to messages left on their individual voice mail systems.


But Sinclair released a letter from its chief executive, David D. Smith, to Senator McCain in which he wrote that "responsible journalism" requires that a discussion of the cost of wars "must necessarily be accompanied by a description of the benefits of military action and the events that precipitated that action."





So their justification is basically taken from The Onion! Remember their "point counterpoint" re: "No Blood for Oil?" The counterpoint was "Just how much oil are we talking about!"

Geez, the Repugs are getting weirder and weirder...

We also need a discussion of the benefits of war (cue Halliburton official) and the reason for war (cue lying stooges Chalabi & Cheney). Yeah, that's a good idea. Explain, in voice over, over the faces of these young men and women how great this war is, and how justified. I dare them!

Yes, they truly presented both sides, I'm sure, in the run up to war. ha.

The president of CEO of this company has an arrest record for soliciting a prostitute. I saw it on Buzzflash.

http://www.wgoeshome.com

war dead. It used to be the 'patriotic' thing to do. That is until honoring our war dead became a political liability for the Bush regime. Now they ( and their RW radio maggots) have told the dittoheads that they should believe that honoring our war dead is now 'unpatriotic' 'partisan' and just the 'liberal media' going after Bush. I am getting sick and tired of hearing from the RW that liberals are going after Bush, attacking Bush, as though he was the most important individual involved in this awful war. It's not about HIM. It's about the lives of our children. It's not about Bush!

get all defensive and start defending BUSH! It's scary that they will defend this atrocity of a war in order to support Bush. They try to act like they're all about supporting the troops, but it's really all about supporting their great Resident-in-Thief. They make me sick. :puke:

because the Republican party sees him as a contingency plan in the 2004 election.

In a way, the more I see McCain on the news, the more encouraged I become, because it shows me that there is some level of worry about Bushco and its re-selection campaign over at Republican hq.

I really think McCain is offended by this. What a slap in the face to all those who served and lost their lives to be caught up in this crap by Sinclair. McCain knows how ugly the Bush administration plays and he's calling them on it...

I am just wondering why he is on my tv so much these days -- I was making more of a comment on the relationship between the media and the Republican Party (not McCain personally).

I'd rather see Byrd on tv than McCain, but somehow I seem to catch more McCain.

I just think McCain is around in case Bush drops out due to some unforeseen circumstance or another. I wouldn't be at all surprised if Bush is hiding bad secrets we don't know about yet. The Republicans would want a plan B if something horrible came out pre-convention.

If there were a McCain v. Kerry election, I firmly believe that Kerry would be a better choice than McCain. Although, I don't think either of them is sufficiently focussed on the issues I care about at this point in time.

The right wants to read "bias" into the reading of the names of the fallen. Sinclair openly says they're not airing the show for solely political reasons. Has anyone from Sinclair publicly spoken on the $130k their executives have given to Bush & Co. since 2000?

If they were really concerned with fairness, they could've had a town hall program immediately following or preceding Nightline. But it really isn't about fairness, is it?

At the Article 32 Hearing (like a grand jury hearing) Specialist Matthew Wisdom, an M.P under oath stated

Wisdom said:
SFC Snider grabbed my prisoner and threw him into a pile. . . . I do not think it was right
to put them in a pile. I saw SSG Frederic, SGT Davis and CPL Graner walking around the
pile hitting the prisoners. I remember SSG Frederick hitting one prisoner in the side of its
ribcage. The prisoner was no danger to SSG Frederick. . . . I left after that.
When he returned later, Wisdom testified:
I saw two naked detainees, one masturbating to another kneeling with its mouth open. I
thought I should just get out of there. I didn’t think it was right . . . I saw SSG Frederick
walking towards me, and he said, ““Look what these animals do when you leave them
alone for two seconds.”” I heard PFC England shout out, ““He’’s getting hard"

for invading Iraq?

When Saddam goes on trial, will his defense lawyer use these pics?

Nightline has been discussing those things for two years!

he is nothing but a PIMP for george. stop putting party before country man. until he admits that george is the worst president EVER, he is NOTHING.

It is hard to respect McCain after he went campaigning for Bush in 2000. He encouraged people to vote for Bush then and is doing it again in now, even knowing what he does about this administration. The man gets no respect from me!

And I care what McCain says, even if he's a Republican. In this case, his analysis is exactly correct - that Sinclair Broadcasting's decision is unpatriotic and, frankly, un-American. Whatever your position on the war, you have to respect the sacrifice of so many American soldiers. The worst thing you can do to them is deny them the recognition they deserve.

but every once in awhile he does something decent. Just you never know which personality will show up on a particular day.

It made me think @ the horror of it all.

Blessings to Ted Koppel

Ted Koppel read off the names of soldiers KIA'd or wounded in Afghanistan? or the names of the victims of 9/11? If it was really an honorable tribute to those who died in combat why not read the list servicemen KIA'd or wounded in Afghanistan?

I fell asleep before Nightline came on

:shrug:

maybe he thought this would be his most effective means to make a change or to get people out of their beds and into the streets protesting. E-mail him, let him know. Do anything to help, but first get your sleep.

All it did was provide fodder for critics who claim a liberal bias in the news media.

:wow:

Why is reading the names of the dead a liberal thing? I don't know why he choose to do it, but it made me laugh to think that I made such a significant statement B-) . No one ever pays much attention to me or what I think, but I'm going to walk a little taller today *wink*.

And really, no matter who does what, anything seems to be able to be turned into "fodder for critics who claim a liberal bias in the news media". At least IMHO.

and to achieve change. that seems like an agenda to me of any political stripe

Viewers protest ‘Nightline’ blackout

Many in West Virginia, and Arizona Sen. John McCain, object to stations’ owner not showing Iraq war tribute


-more at-

http://wvgazette.com/section/News/2004043030

A group gathered in a park and read all the names. The ABC station anchors seemed to be begging people to send them e-mails that they would then forward to Sinclair. They'd gotten 4,000 last night. A Fox channel in Greenville carried the program, though.

I remember working out of Spartanburg in January, and for a while the office only had broadcast television. Sinclair's ABC affiliate in Asheville came in the clearest, and so in order to get timely news, I had to put up with their pretty boy "commentator" who would come on three times a day and specifically call Wes Clark and John Kerry "cowards," despite the fact that they combined were wounded seven more times in battle than he ever was, earned three more Bronze Stars and two more Silver Stars. I can't tell you how happy I am now that I don't have to put up with a Sinclair affiliate.

Sinclair is the same outfit that pulled Bill Mahr's Politically Incorrect off the air permanently in this area after his cruise missile remarks.

If we get enough letters to the FCC with copies to the press, the FCC
can't ignore it. Copies to CBS might be good. and 60 minutes etc.

Violation of the US Constitution
Unfounded repeated censorship.
propagandizing

How does one file a formal complaint? Owning a broadcast license carries heavy responsibility. Reading the names of our war dead being censored is clearly a violation of the public interest.

Plus, something like this could counter all of the cries FOR censorship in the media lately. This is where the broadcast media is headed if it isn't cut off at the pass.

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

I'm not sure, but I think it's up to each station owner to decide what theya re going to air.

Right now, because of all the complaints they got about Janet Jackson, they are at least talking about holding stations owners responsible for airing objectionable material. If they are holding they responsible for that, they ahve just stated it is the responsibility to judge. If that station decided not to air the Nightline Show, you're problem is with them, not the FCC.

Too bad you can't call your cable company and tell them to just remove the Sinclair stations from your service.

Catch the rerun on Comedy Central. He pointed out how Sinclair broadcasts sleazy, mind numbing shows like Jerry Springer and Maury Povich and salacious reality shows.

I love this part: "responsible journalism" requires that a discussion of the cost of wars "must necessarily be accompanied by a description of the benefits of military action and the events that precipitated that action."

So where have these people been since 2002? In one of those dick cheney undisclosed locations? It's not as though we haven't had pro-war crap NONSTOP on all the radio AND tv networks for at least a couple of years. What the heck do they think all THAT was about?

Dayton is filing a formal protest to Michael Powell at the FCC over this Sinclair censorship action of the PUBLIC'S airwaves. It would be nice if McCain joined him. I tell you the best thing I have heard form all this is the people in Charleston and Asheville protesting the censorship right in out in front of the Sinclair station. You do know what the next step is right? Direct Action, folks. We are getting closer and closer. Powell, Sinclair and all the media better be paying attention.

The people will take back the public airwaves for the benefit of all the public, not just the media conglomrates and their cronies in the whitehouse.

I have seen it suggested over and over that protests be held right in front of tv and radio stations. Finally citizens of Charleston and Asheville have the smarts and the balls to actually do it !!

Hoojah for those citizens of Charleston and Asheville !! I f I ever move South those palces are on my list now...

You know what? maybe the citizens of Charleston and Asheville need to take back 'ownership' of those airwaves in their community if the carpetbagger Bush cronies from Baltimore are going to continue their fascist censorship of the public airwaves.

Let go to the Way back machine and see the limp wristers here on torture.

Where are you guys???

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=192572#192839