From MoveOn...Contact Sinclair advertisers re: The Point

Dear MoveOn member,
Before the election, we stopped Sinclair Broadcasting from airing an anti-Kerry hit piece. But Sinclair continues to interject partisan bias into local evening news reaching 1 in 4 homes.

Every night, Sinclair vice president Mark Hyman broadcasts a conservative rant -- called "The Point" -- which most of Sinclair's 62 stations are required to air during their local news. "The Point" predictably attacks Democrats and progressives while praising George Bush. No counterpoint is offered. This is an abuse of the public airwaves.

Our friends at Media Matters for America are spearheading a campaign to demand balance on Sinclair's evening news by telling Sinclair's advertisers about the partisanship they're supporting.

Can you contact Sinclair's local and national advertisers? Click here to visit the new website, SinclairAction.com:

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=629

You can tell advertisers how Sinclair's "The Point" interjects partisan commentary into the evening news program they sponsor, reflecting poorly on their product. We are not suggesting a boycott of these advertisers. Rather, we are hoping these advertisers, as good corporate citizens, will persuade Sinclair to include a counterpoint.

In the last month, "The Point" has included partisan commentary like:


"Religion, particularly Christianity, has been under attack by the left for several years." (11/18/04)
" ridicule what red-staters see as moral values and in their arrogant and superior way, the Angry Left substitute their own topics they claim to represent real moral values: unjust war, tax relief and indifference to the environment." (11/23/04)
"Mainstream America will not vote for a party run by Hollywood liberals, greedy trial lawyers and clueless academia." (11/15/04)
"The facts never have and never will matter to the Angry Left." (12/7/04)
Sinclair's partisan bias is not new. In April, Sinclair forbade its stations from airing an ABC Nightline special honoring the 700 American soldiers killed in Iraq. Explaining its decision, Sinclair declared: "We do not believe political statements should be disguised as news content."

Sharing this sentiment, we're contacting Sinclair's advertisers to alert them to the partisan commentary Sinclair inserts into the local evening news. No company wants to be perceived as partisan. With our letters and calls, we can enlist Sinclair's advertisers to pressure Sinclair to offer a counterpoint.

To contact Sinclair's advertisers, click here:

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=629

Thank you for working to restore a healthy debate to the public airwaves.

Sincerely,

--Noah T. Winer
MoveOn.org
Thursday, December 16th, 2004

I E-mailed that I'd be boycotting them as long as they continued to advertise on Sinclair Broadcasting's evening news. Here's their response. Sometimes our efforts work.

We appreciate your inquiry concerning this issue, Lisa.

As a result of Staples ongoing review of its advertising media buy activity, Staples will no longer
be airing advertising on any Sinclair stations news programs as of Jan 10, 2005.

Thank you for your patience concerning this matter.

Steve
Staples Customer Service Supervisor

e-mail: support@orders.staples.com
phone : 1-800-3STAPLE (1-800-378-2753)
fax : 1-800-333-3199
online: http://www.staples.com/help/default.asp?zone=contact

email ID:6719152