Bastards
Complaint sent to: fccinfo@fcc.gov
[name omitted]
[address omitted]
Daytime: (314) xxx-xxxx ; Home: (314) xxx-xxxx
Companies involved in complaint:
KDNL channel 30 (ABC affiliate)
1215 Cole Street
St. Louis, MO 63106
(314) 436-3030
Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.
10706 Beaver Dam Road
Hunt Valley, Maryland 21030
410-568-1500 (Main Telephone)
410-568-1533 (Main Fax)
Complaint:
KDNL channel 30 by direction of parent corporation Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. will not be airing the Friday, April 30, 2004 program NIGHTLINE in which host Ted Koppel will be reading the names of American soldiers killed in combat in Iraq and showing their pictures. By acting based solely on the political biases of those in charge of the Sinclair Broadcast Group, the parties involved are not acting in the public interest, rather, they are acting in their own personal political interests. This prior restraint and blatant censorship indicates that the Sinclair Broadcast Group is not adhering to rules and regulations established in this country, and enforced (one would hope) by the Federal Communications Commission. Additionally, the blatant disregard for the Constitution of the United States with regard to free speech and freedom of the press should also be considered as an indication of not acting in the public interest.
I would request that you strongly consider punitive action for this egregious breach of the public trust.
- [Jeebus]
Refer to:
http://poynter.org/forum/?id=misc
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.
