Opinion: Sinclair Broadcasting backs down

10/25/2004

The controversy that has ensued for weeks over whether or not Sinclair Broadcasting would air a documentary criticizing Sen. John Kerry's service in the Vietnam War has come to an end. The final result: Sinclair backed down after shareholders complained, corporations pulled their advertising, and Democrats flooded the media with catcalls. The broadcasting company had originally planned to air an anti-Kerry documentary entitled, ''Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal,'' a film by Carlton Sherwood. However, after the company was accused of partisan propaganda, it switched its agenda. The film was replaced with a program that critiqued the documentary's role in this political cycle and aired Friday on 40 of the company's 62 stations, many of which are in swing states. The program was called ''A P.O.W. Story: Politics, Pressure and the Media.''

The program was objective and balanced, showing as many Kerry supporters as it did critics. Only four minutes of Sherwood's film was aired, which was accompanied by a pro-Kerry documentary, ''Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry,'' by George Butler.

Although all seems well, this controversy should reveal something to the media and the American public. A news medium's first priority is to be objective. It should never consider broadcasting programs that so blatantly polarize its audience.

There is no question that Sinclair is conservative. Its top executives are large contributors to the Republican party and many of their programs have incorporated conservative commentary. If broadcast stations aired editorials or made endorsements, these political agendas could be included, but in news there is no room for partisan politics.

When Jon Leiberman, Sinclair's Washington bureau chief, had received the original assignment of airing the documentary, he told the Baltimore Sun he would not work on the project. Leiberman explained he thought the program should not be defined as news, but should be called commentary. The following day, Lieberman was fired.

Sinclair executives are now denying they had ever planned to air the documentary and referred to the controversy as "allegations of media bias by media organizations that ignore or filter legitimate news," according to the Sinclair website. The company had originally bombarded Sen. Kerry with criticism of his actions after returning from Vietnam and vigorously defended its right to air the film under the protection of the First Amendment.

A news documentary, according to the definition of the equal time provision by the Federal Communications Commission, is when "the appearance of the candidate is incidental to the presentation of the subject or subjects covered by the news documentary." If the company had not backed down and aired ''Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal,'' it would be impossible to define the film as news under this provision. Sen. Kerry's appearance is not incidental in the documentary, but central, intentional and critical.

At the beginning of the controversy, Sinclair stock fell for nine consecutive days. It rebounded slightly after the company revised its agenda, but shareholders have considered suing and Burger King withdrew its advertising from the program. Overall, Sinclair stock is down more than 52 percent from their New Year's Day peak, which was $15.43

Sinclair's blatant disregard for objective journalism has cost one man his job, shareholders their stock value, advertisers an outlet, and a news department its credibility.