Mechanic
April 30th, 2004, 07:17 AM
US stations to boycott troop tribute
A major television chain, the Sinclair Broadcast Group, is barring its ABC-affiliated stations from airing a planned Nightline tribute to fallen US troops in Iraq, saying the program is a political statement disguised as news.
ABC News plans to devote Friday's entire Nightline segment to the tribute, with anchor Ted Koppel reading aloud the names of hundreds of fallen American servicemen and women as their photographs are shown.
The network's intentions drew a denunciation from Sinclair, a Baltimore-based owner of 62 television stations in 39 markets reaching roughly 24 per cent of US television households.
Sinclair says the Nightline segment "appears to be motivated by a political agenda designed to undermine the efforts of the United States in Iraq".
In a statement posted on its website, the broadcast group accuses Koppel and his show of seeking to "highlight only one aspect of the war effort and in doing so to influence public opinion against the military action in Iraq."
An ABC News spokesman says Sinclair's decision to pre-empt Friday's Nightline on its stations would remove the program in at least seven markets: St Louis, Missouri; Columbus, Ohio; Charleston, West Virginia; Pensacola, Florida; Springfield, Massachusetts, and Asheville and Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Sticking to its plans, ABC News defends the planned broadcast as "an expression of respect which simply seeks to honour those who have laid down their lives for this country".
In an interview with Internet media report Poynteronline, Koppel himself rejects the notion that he is out to make a political point.
"Just look at these people. Look at their names. And look at their ages. Consider what they've done for you. Honour them," Koppel said.
"I truly believe that people will take away from this program the reflection of what they bring to it."
Sinclair's boycott drew a sharp rebuke from U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey, a New York Democrat and leading congressional critic of newly relaxed media ownership regulations adopted last year by the Federal Communications Commission.
"The decision by Sinclair to keep this program off its stations is being made by a corporation with a political agenda without regard to the wants or needs of its viewers," Hinchey said.
"This move may be providing a chilling look into the future if we allow media ownership to be consolidated into fewer and fewer hands."
A Washington-based liberal think tank, the Centre for American Progress, cites campaign contribution reports showing Sinclair executives have donated more than $130,000 to President George W Bush and his political allies since 2000.
A major television chain, the Sinclair Broadcast Group, is barring its ABC-affiliated stations from airing a planned Nightline tribute to fallen US troops in Iraq, saying the program is a political statement disguised as news.
ABC News plans to devote Friday's entire Nightline segment to the tribute, with anchor Ted Koppel reading aloud the names of hundreds of fallen American servicemen and women as their photographs are shown.
The network's intentions drew a denunciation from Sinclair, a Baltimore-based owner of 62 television stations in 39 markets reaching roughly 24 per cent of US television households.
Sinclair says the Nightline segment "appears to be motivated by a political agenda designed to undermine the efforts of the United States in Iraq".
In a statement posted on its website, the broadcast group accuses Koppel and his show of seeking to "highlight only one aspect of the war effort and in doing so to influence public opinion against the military action in Iraq."
An ABC News spokesman says Sinclair's decision to pre-empt Friday's Nightline on its stations would remove the program in at least seven markets: St Louis, Missouri; Columbus, Ohio; Charleston, West Virginia; Pensacola, Florida; Springfield, Massachusetts, and Asheville and Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Sticking to its plans, ABC News defends the planned broadcast as "an expression of respect which simply seeks to honour those who have laid down their lives for this country".
In an interview with Internet media report Poynteronline, Koppel himself rejects the notion that he is out to make a political point.
"Just look at these people. Look at their names. And look at their ages. Consider what they've done for you. Honour them," Koppel said.
"I truly believe that people will take away from this program the reflection of what they bring to it."
Sinclair's boycott drew a sharp rebuke from U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey, a New York Democrat and leading congressional critic of newly relaxed media ownership regulations adopted last year by the Federal Communications Commission.
"The decision by Sinclair to keep this program off its stations is being made by a corporation with a political agenda without regard to the wants or needs of its viewers," Hinchey said.
"This move may be providing a chilling look into the future if we allow media ownership to be consolidated into fewer and fewer hands."
A Washington-based liberal think tank, the Centre for American Progress, cites campaign contribution reports showing Sinclair executives have donated more than $130,000 to President George W Bush and his political allies since 2000.