Freedom of the press belongs to the guy who owns one, but not freedom of the airwaves: it might be time to remind some folks — the FCC and some forgetful broadcasters — that the public owns the airwaves.
The Left Coaster: How To Deal With Sinclair Broadcast Group’s Attempt To Play Kingmaker:
The conservative-leaning Sinclair Broadcast Group, whose television outlets reach nearly a quarter of the nation’s homes with TV, is ordering its stations to preempt regular programming just days before the Nov. 2 election to air a film that attacks Sen. John F. Kerry’s activism against the Vietnam War, network and station executives familiar with the plan said Friday.
Sinclair has told its stations — many of them in political swing states such as Ohio and Florida — to air “Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal,” sources said. The film, funded by Pennsylvania veterans and produced by a veteran and former Washington Times reporter, features former POWs accusing Kerry — a decorated Navy veteran turned war protester — of worsening their ordeal by prolonging the war. Sinclair will preempt regular prime-time programming from the networks to show the film, which may be classified as news programming, according to TV executives familiar with the plan.
As the site above points, the usual tactics for pressuring a media concern are through boycotts of their advertisers. But another avenue is to challenge their license renewals as they come due. And if you take a moment to read through the FCC’s Localism section, there are lots of opportunities to make your voice heard: it all goes on the record and if there’s a loud enough protest, it can’t be ignored.
The national press corps has been supine for these past four years: the FCC’s proposed media ownership rule changes were headed off by local pressure at public hearings across the country. That’s what it takes. Time to do it again . . .
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