hi everyone,

i just sent the following message out and am hoping you can forward the
information to your friends and any lists you might be on, as well.

thanks!
denise mccoskey


Dear friends,

As many of you have no doubt heard, the Sinclair Broadcast Group is
pressuring its affiliates (which reach roughly a quarter of U.S.
televisions) to pre-empt their regular broadcast schedule and air a
documentary attacking, once again, John Kerry's Vietnam war record.
They are timing the broadcast to fall just before the election and seek
to evade federal regulation by calling it "news" and/or by "inviting
John Kerry to respond."   Just so you know what we are dealing with:
in April, the same Sinclair group refused to run an episode of
"Nightline" because the program was entirely devoted to Ted Koppel
reading the names of American soldiers who had been killed in Iraq.

Please take the time to contact as many parts of the Sinclair group as
you can to let them know how reprehensible this current plan is.  Also,
please forward this message to everyone you know--we need to deluge
them with protests so they (and their advertisers) know just how many
viewers take offense at these tactics.

For more background on the documentary and Sinclair's plans, go to:
http://mediamatters.org/
To see Sinclair's national holdings, go to:
http://www.sbgi.net/business/markets/cincinnati.shtml

Below, I have given the main contact information for the Sinclair
group, as well as information for its Ohio stations (apologies if you
are outside Ohio, but you can find out about your state at the holdings
page above).  Underneath that is a sample letter written by the CEO of
Media Matters.   Please let them know you are watching and that you
don't take kindly to yet another attempt by the rich and powerful to
undermine our election.

Sincerely,
Denise (McCoskey)


SINCLAIR BROADCASTING GROUP MAIN CONTACT:
David D. Smith
President and Chief Executive Officer
E-mail: [log in to unmask]


Ohio markets:

CINCINNATI--the Sinclair Group owns WB64
STATION ADDRESS:
WB64, WSTR
5177 Fishwick Drive
Cincinnati, OH 45216
Phone: 513-641-4400
Fax: 513-242-2633

Web contact form:       http://www.wb64.net/cincinnati_oh/

COLUMBUS--the Sinclair Group owns FOX 28/ABC 6
WSYX/WTTE
1261 Dublin Rd.
Columbus, OH 43215
Main Phone:     614-481-6666
News Fax:       614-481-6624
Community Affairs Fax:

Web contact form:       http://www.wsyx6.com/

DAYTON--the Sinclair Group owns Fox 45/ABC 22
STATION ADDRESS:
ABC22/FOX45
45 Broadcast Plaza
Dayton, Ohio 45408
Phone: 937.263.4500
Fax: 937.268.5265

Web contact form:       http://www.wkef22.com/dayton_oh/

Letter from David Brock to Sinclair Broadcast Group (10/10/04)

October 10, 2004

David D. Smith
President and Chief Executive Officer
Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.
10706 Beaver Dam Road
Hunt Valley, Maryland 21030

Dear Mr. Smith:

I'm writing to ask you to cancel plans, reported in the October 9
edition of the Los Angeles Times, to force Sinclair Broadcasting Group
stations to preempt regular programming and broadcast a film attacking
Senator John Kerry between now and the November 2 presidential election.

According to the Times, the film, Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal,
"features former POWs accusing Kerry -- a decorated Navy veteran turned
war protester -- of worsening their ordeal by prolonging the war." The
Times reported that the maker of the film, former Washington Times
reporter (and former Bush administration official) Carlton Sherwood,
tells viewers on the film's website: "Intended or not, Lt. Kerry
painted a depraved portrait of Vietnam veterans, literally creating the
images of those who served in combat as deranged, drug-addicted
psychopaths, baby killers" that has endured for 30 years.

I don't have to remind you, as the Times pointed out, that "Sinclair
stations are spread throughout the country, in major markets that
include Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Las Vegas. ... Fourteen of the 62
stations the company either owns or programs are in the key political
swing stations of Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, where the
presidential election is being closely fought."

As described by the Times, Sinclair's plan to air the film raises
questions about whether Sinclair would be running afoul of federal
regulations "requiring broadcasters to provide equal time to major
candidates in an election campaign ..." Provisions of the
McCain-Feingold law would also appear to be at issue in your decision.
The reported effort by Sinclair executives to instruct station managers
to classify the film as "news," thus skirting these political
broadcasting regulations, would be a charade given its blatant
anti-Kerry slant.

I trust that in light of these concerns, you will reconsider your
company's apparent decision to air "Stolen Honor."

Sincerely,

David Brock
President and CEO
Media Matters for America