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Sinclair: Stations won't run entire anti-Kerry film
Wednesday, October 20, 2004 Posted: 5:41 AM EDT (0941 GMT)
(CNN) -- Sinclair Broadcast Group announced Tuesday its television stations won't run in its entirety a documentary attacking Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry and said reports that it had planned to do so were incorrect.
The announcement from the Maryland-based company followed two weeks of intense criticism from Democrats and from its own Washington bureau chief, who was fired Monday after he told The Baltimore Sun the decision to air the 45-minute film as a news program was "biased political propaganda."
The film, "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal," features former American prisoners of war blasting Kerry's Vietnam-era antiwar activism, particularly his 1971 testimony before a Senate committee in which the decorated Navy officer recounted allegations of atrocities by U.S. troops.
Sinclair said Tuesday it will air a special news program, called "A POW Story," that will include the documentary's allegations against Kerry in a "broader discussion." The company said 40 of its 62 stations will air the program, including stations in the presidential swing states of Ohio, Florida, Iowa and Wisconsin.
"Contrary to numerous inaccurate political and press accounts, the Sinclair stations will not be airing the documentary 'Stolen Honor' in its entirety," the company said in a written statement. "At no time did Sinclair ever publicly announce that it intended to do so."
The film, by journalist Carlton Sherwood, is backed by the anti-Kerry veterans group Swift Boat Veterans and POWs for Truth. The group has accused Kerry of lying about his Vietnam combat record and harming U.S. prisoners as an antiwar activist by recounting allegations of war crimes by U.S. troops to a Senate committee.
Sinclair had ordered its television stations to pre-empt regular programming to air the program based on "Stolen Honor." But it said Tuesday that it had prominently noted throughout the controversy that "the exact format of this unscripted event has not been finalized."
"The news special will focus in part on the use of documentaries and other media to influence voting, which emerged during the 2004 political campaigns, as well as on the content of certain of these documentaries," a corporate statement said. "The program will also examine the role of the media in filtering the information contained in these documentaries, allegations of media bias by media organizations that ignore or filter legitimate news and the attempts by candidates and other organizations to influence media coverage."
Jon Leiberman, the Sinclair reporter fired for publicly criticizing the company's handling of the documentary, said Sinclair executives told its news staff Sunday that they planned to run a "significant chunk" of the film, "but they refused to put a time on it." He said he objected when the company told reporters to develop news stories around the film.
"They were going to have the news department take an active role in framing this documentary as a news item," Leiberman said.
Leiberman, who said he has seen "Stolen Honor," called the film "very inflammatory."
"It's a presentation of some of what a number of POWs have to say about how they were tortured because of what John Kerry said in 1971, and they make a direct link between the treatment and torture they received and John Kerry's statements. It wouldn't be considered objective by any means."
He said his objections stemmed from Sinclair's efforts to build a news program around the movie, which he warned would damage the company's journalistic credibility.
"It seems like they're backing off, but we won't know until we see what's on the air on Friday," Leiberman said. "If they do back off, I honestly believe it's because of all the pressure."
Sinclair's stations reach about a quarter of U.S. households. Its top executives have donated at least $58,000 to President Bush's re-election campaign or the Republican National Committee for the 2004 election. Democrats said Sinclair would have been making an illegal campaign contribution to Bush's re-election effort by airing the film. Some stockholders have raised questions about the decision as well, and some Wall Street analysts have blamed the controversy for recent declines in the company's stock value.
Leiberman was dismissed for violating company policy when he repeated his complaints to The Sun. Company spokesman Mark Hyman, whose conservative commentaries are included in news programming Sinclair produces for its stations, said Leiberman was breaking silence because of his "political views."
"We have no further comment on the actions of a disgruntled employee or an ongoing personnel matter," Hyman said in a statement to CNN Monday night. "Viewers can grade Leiberman's opinion versus the reality when the finished product is aired."
Sinclair retreats on airing Kerry film
By The Washington Post and The Associated Press
Under mounting political, legal and financial pressure, Sinclair Broadcast Group yesterday backed away from its plan to carry a film attacking Sen. John Kerry's Vietnam record, saying it would air only portions of the documentary in an hourlong special scheduled for Friday.
The company's announcement came hours after shareholders challenged Sinclair's plans to air the program, saying the controversial broadcast might hurt their investment.
"A POW Story: Politics, Pressure and the Media," will examine the "role of the media in filtering the information contained in these documentaries, allegations of media bias by media organizations that ignore or filter legitimate news and the attempts by candidates and other organizations to influence media coverage," according to a company statement. It will air Friday on 40 of the company's stations.
Sinclair, the owner of 62 television stations, has been criticized for ordering the stations to pre-empt regular programming to air the 42-minute documentary, "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal," which features 17 former prisoners of war criticizing Kerry's 1971 allegations of U.S. atrocities in Vietnam.
The company, which previously declined comment, said reports that the film would be aired in its entirety were "inaccurate." However, Sinclair commentator and Vice President Mark Hyman had told The Washington Post the movie would air unless Kerry agreed to an interview.
Sinclair fired its Washington bureau chief Monday after he publicly criticized plans to present the documentary as news.
"The experience of preparing to air this news special has been trying for many of those involved," Sinclair Chief Executive David Smith said. "The company and many of its executives have endured personal attacks of the vilest nature, as well as calls on our advertisers and our viewers to boycott our stations and on our shareholders to sell their stock."
Democrats have complained to three federal agencies about the Sinclair special, arguing that the broadcast should be considered an illegal in-kind contribution to the Bush campaign and noting that Smith and his three brothers, who run the company, have contributed heavily to President Bush and the Republican Party.
Groups have also called for advertisers to boycott Sinclair, whose stations reach a quarter of U.S. households, many in key swing states for the upcoming presidential election.
Sinclair's stock has dropped more than 15 percent since the controversy erupted 10 days ago. Alan Hevesi, the Democratic comptroller of New York whose state pension fund holds 257,000 shares of Sinclair, questioned in a letter to the company yesterday whether airing the movie would further depress the shares.
"We have not ceded, and will not in the future cede, control of our news reporting to any outside organization or political group," said Joe DeFeo, Sinclair's vice president of news.
But Andrew Jay Schwartzman, president of the nonprofit Media Access Project, called the move "a surprising cave-in" and said the company "clearly felt a lot of pressure and this is an attempt to find a face-saving way out."
The Sinclair announcement came hours after Deborah Rappoport, a major Democratic donor with her husband, Andy, said they had offered to buy one hour on Sinclair stations. This would finance a 42-minute version of a pro-Kerry Vietnam documentary, "Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry," by George Butler. Rappoport said she was "deeply, deeply outraged" by Sinclair's action and was offering $1 million more than the company's usual ad rate in response.
Adding to the pressure on Sinclair, a group of institutional investors alleged yesterday that Smith's brothers sold millions of dollars in Sinclair shares late last year just before the stock began its decline. Prominent shareholder lawyer William Lerach said the family members would face a lawsuit unless they repay the company.
Lerach, who has led investor lawsuits against Enron, Time Warner and other corporations, is a noted Democratic fund-raiser. But he said his involvement is not political, spurred instead by investors who have watched Sinclair's stock slide from a high of $15 per share in late December to its close of $6.15 yesterday.
Lerach noted that Frederick, Robert and Duncan Smith sold about 1.4 million shares of stock for almost $19 million as the stock was peaking at the turn of the year. The attorney, whose clients include a New York pension fund for health care workers, said the plan to air "Stolen Honor" has further hurt the company by driving down the stock price. He said Sinclair executives "should be focusing on creating shareholder value ? not pressing a controversial personal political agenda at shareholders' expense."
Also yesterday, James Beardsley, attorney for a former Vietnam veteran who is seen in an anti-war protest in "Stolen Honor," said he would sue Sinclair if it airs the movie. The veteran, Kenneth Campbell, now a University of Delaware professor, sued filmmaker Carlton Sherwood for libel this week. The movie "made him look like a liar, a fraud and a fabricator" over his descriptions of military misconduct in Vietnam, Beardsley said.
Sherwood's lawyer, Cleta Mitchell, called the suit "completely spurious," saying Campbell isn't even named in the film.
Sinclair Stock Rebounds After Announcement
ALEX DOMINGUEZ
Associated Press
BALTIMORE - Shares of Sinclair Broadcast Group rebounded sharply Wednesday after the company said it would only use parts of a documentary critical of John Kerry in a program it first said would air on all of its stations.
Shares of the suburban Baltimore company rose around 14 percent, or 87 cents, to $7.13 on the NASDAQ stock exchange in early afternoon trading Wednesday. The shares had dropped more than 16 percent since plans for the show were first announced earlier this month.
Sinclair had announced earlier that all of its 62 stations, many in key swing states, would carry the program. The decision prompted protests from critics that the company was abusing its public trust, calls for advertising boycotts, and threats of legal action from shareholders concerned about how the decision would affect their investments.
The decision had also prompted several advertisers to ask Sinclair not to run their commercials in or around the program.
U.S. Cellular Corp., the nation's eighth largest wireless telecommunications provider, has asked Sinclair affiliates not to run its commercials two hours before, during and after the program's airing, said President and CEO John E. Rooney. Nationwide Insurance said it "plans not to advertise during this perceived politically motivated program if Sinclair Media elects to broadcast it without fair and equal opportunity for response." And Regis Corp., an operator of haircutting salons, said it has asked Sinclair not to run any of its ads near or during the program.
Company officials did not respond Wednesday to several calls for comment from The Associated Press.
Late Tuesday, Sinclair announced that parts of the film "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal," will be shown during "A POW Story: Politics, Pressure and the Media," a program examining the use of documentaries to influence elections. The company said the show will air Friday on 40 of the company's stations.
Sinclair said executives met recently with senior Kerry campaign officials but the campaign has declined to participate in the program.
Sinclair fires bureau chief
Wednesday, October 20, 2004 - Page A21
Baltimore -- Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc., a major owner of U.S. television stations, has fired Washington bureau chief Jon Leiberman, saying he revealed company business when he publicly discussed a documentary scheduled for broadcast that is critical of John Kerry's Vietnam War activities.
"We are disappointed that Jon's political views caused him to violate company policy and speak to the press about company business," the Sinclair Group said.
In his remarks, published Monday by The Sun newspaper in Baltimore, Mr. Leiberman called the documentary "biased political propaganda, with clear intentions to sway this election."
The documentary features former PoWs accusing Mr. Kerry, a decorated veteran who took up the anti-war cause upon returning from Vietnam, of prolonging the war and worsening their plight.
Last night, facing pressure from shareholders and advertisers, Sinclair Group said it would not show the film in its entirety. Excerpts will be used as part of a program examining how politically charged documentaries influence voters. AP, NYT
Sinclair: Stations won't run entire anti-Kerry film
Wednesday, October 20, 2004 Posted: 5:41 AM EDT (0941 GMT)
(CNN) -- Sinclair Broadcast Group announced Tuesday its television stations won't run in its entirety a documentary attacking Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry and said reports that it had planned to do so were incorrect.
The announcement from the Maryland-based company followed two weeks of intense criticism from Democrats and from its own Washington bureau chief, who was fired Monday after he told The Baltimore Sun the decision to air the 45-minute film as a news program was "biased political propaganda."
The film, "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal," features former American prisoners of war blasting Kerry's Vietnam-era antiwar activism, particularly his 1971 testimony before a Senate committee in which the decorated Navy officer recounted allegations of atrocities by U.S. troops.
Sinclair said Tuesday it will air a special news program, called "A POW Story," that will include the documentary's allegations against Kerry in a "broader discussion." The company said 40 of its 62 stations will air the program, including stations in the presidential swing states of Ohio, Florida, Iowa and Wisconsin.
"Contrary to numerous inaccurate political and press accounts, the Sinclair stations will not be airing the documentary 'Stolen Honor' in its entirety," the company said in a written statement. "At no time did Sinclair ever publicly announce that it intended to do so."
The film, by journalist Carlton Sherwood, is backed by the anti-Kerry veterans group Swift Boat Veterans and POWs for Truth. The group has accused Kerry of lying about his Vietnam combat record and harming U.S. prisoners as an antiwar activist by recounting allegations of war crimes by U.S. troops to a Senate committee.
Sinclair had ordered its television stations to pre-empt regular programming to air the program based on "Stolen Honor." But it said Tuesday that it had prominently noted throughout the controversy that "the exact format of this unscripted event has not been finalized."
"The news special will focus in part on the use of documentaries and other media to influence voting, which emerged during the 2004 political campaigns, as well as on the content of certain of these documentaries," a corporate statement said. "The program will also examine the role of the media in filtering the information contained in these documentaries, allegations of media bias by media organizations that ignore or filter legitimate news and the attempts by candidates and other organizations to influence media coverage."
Jon Leiberman, the Sinclair reporter fired for publicly criticizing the company's handling of the documentary, said Sinclair executives told its news staff Sunday that they planned to run a "significant chunk" of the film, "but they refused to put a time on it." He said he objected when the company told reporters to develop news stories around the film.
"They were going to have the news department take an active role in framing this documentary as a news item," Leiberman said.
Leiberman, who said he has seen "Stolen Honor," called the film "very inflammatory."
"It's a presentation of some of what a number of POWs have to say about how they were tortured because of what John Kerry said in 1971, and they make a direct link between the treatment and torture they received and John Kerry's statements. It wouldn't be considered objective by any means."
He said his objections stemmed from Sinclair's efforts to build a news program around the movie, which he warned would damage the company's journalistic credibility.
"It seems like they're backing off, but we won't know until we see what's on the air on Friday," Leiberman said. "If they do back off, I honestly believe it's because of all the pressure."
Sinclair's stations reach about a quarter of U.S. households. Its top executives have donated at least $58,000 to President Bush's re-election campaign or the Republican National Committee for the 2004 election. Democrats said Sinclair would have been making an illegal campaign contribution to Bush's re-election effort by airing the film. Some stockholders have raised questions about the decision as well, and some Wall Street analysts have blamed the controversy for recent declines in the company's stock value.
Leiberman was dismissed for violating company policy when he repeated his complaints to The Sun. Company spokesman Mark Hyman, whose conservative commentaries are included in news programming Sinclair produces for its stations, said Leiberman was breaking silence because of his "political views."
"We have no further comment on the actions of a disgruntled employee or an ongoing personnel matter," Hyman said in a statement to CNN Monday night. "Viewers can grade Leiberman's opinion versus the reality when the finished product is aired."
Sinclair retreats on airing Kerry film
By The Washington Post and The Associated Press
Under mounting political, legal and financial pressure, Sinclair Broadcast Group yesterday backed away from its plan to carry a film attacking Sen. John Kerry's Vietnam record, saying it would air only portions of the documentary in an hourlong special scheduled for Friday.
The company's announcement came hours after shareholders challenged Sinclair's plans to air the program, saying the controversial broadcast might hurt their investment.
"A POW Story: Politics, Pressure and the Media," will examine the "role of the media in filtering the information contained in these documentaries, allegations of media bias by media organizations that ignore or filter legitimate news and the attempts by candidates and other organizations to influence media coverage," according to a company statement. It will air Friday on 40 of the company's stations.
Sinclair, the owner of 62 television stations, has been criticized for ordering the stations to pre-empt regular programming to air the 42-minute documentary, "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal," which features 17 former prisoners of war criticizing Kerry's 1971 allegations of U.S. atrocities in Vietnam.
The company, which previously declined comment, said reports that the film would be aired in its entirety were "inaccurate." However, Sinclair commentator and Vice President Mark Hyman had told The Washington Post the movie would air unless Kerry agreed to an interview.
Sinclair fired its Washington bureau chief Monday after he publicly criticized plans to present the documentary as news.
"The experience of preparing to air this news special has been trying for many of those involved," Sinclair Chief Executive David Smith said. "The company and many of its executives have endured personal attacks of the vilest nature, as well as calls on our advertisers and our viewers to boycott our stations and on our shareholders to sell their stock."
Democrats have complained to three federal agencies about the Sinclair special, arguing that the broadcast should be considered an illegal in-kind contribution to the Bush campaign and noting that Smith and his three brothers, who run the company, have contributed heavily to President Bush and the Republican Party.
Groups have also called for advertisers to boycott Sinclair, whose stations reach a quarter of U.S. households, many in key swing states for the upcoming presidential election.
Sinclair's stock has dropped more than 15 percent since the controversy erupted 10 days ago. Alan Hevesi, the Democratic comptroller of New York whose state pension fund holds 257,000 shares of Sinclair, questioned in a letter to the company yesterday whether airing the movie would further depress the shares.
"We have not ceded, and will not in the future cede, control of our news reporting to any outside organization or political group," said Joe DeFeo, Sinclair's vice president of news.
But Andrew Jay Schwartzman, president of the nonprofit Media Access Project, called the move "a surprising cave-in" and said the company "clearly felt a lot of pressure and this is an attempt to find a face-saving way out."
The Sinclair announcement came hours after Deborah Rappoport, a major Democratic donor with her husband, Andy, said they had offered to buy one hour on Sinclair stations. This would finance a 42-minute version of a pro-Kerry Vietnam documentary, "Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry," by George Butler. Rappoport said she was "deeply, deeply outraged" by Sinclair's action and was offering $1 million more than the company's usual ad rate in response.
Adding to the pressure on Sinclair, a group of institutional investors alleged yesterday that Smith's brothers sold millions of dollars in Sinclair shares late last year just before the stock began its decline. Prominent shareholder lawyer William Lerach said the family members would face a lawsuit unless they repay the company.
Lerach, who has led investor lawsuits against Enron, Time Warner and other corporations, is a noted Democratic fund-raiser. But he said his involvement is not political, spurred instead by investors who have watched Sinclair's stock slide from a high of $15 per share in late December to its close of $6.15 yesterday.
Lerach noted that Frederick, Robert and Duncan Smith sold about 1.4 million shares of stock for almost $19 million as the stock was peaking at the turn of the year. The attorney, whose clients include a New York pension fund for health care workers, said the plan to air "Stolen Honor" has further hurt the company by driving down the stock price. He said Sinclair executives "should be focusing on creating shareholder value ? not pressing a controversial personal political agenda at shareholders' expense."
Also yesterday, James Beardsley, attorney for a former Vietnam veteran who is seen in an anti-war protest in "Stolen Honor," said he would sue Sinclair if it airs the movie. The veteran, Kenneth Campbell, now a University of Delaware professor, sued filmmaker Carlton Sherwood for libel this week. The movie "made him look like a liar, a fraud and a fabricator" over his descriptions of military misconduct in Vietnam, Beardsley said.
Sherwood's lawyer, Cleta Mitchell, called the suit "completely spurious," saying Campbell isn't even named in the film.
Sinclair Stock Rebounds After Announcement
ALEX DOMINGUEZ
Associated Press
BALTIMORE - Shares of Sinclair Broadcast Group rebounded sharply Wednesday after the company said it would only use parts of a documentary critical of John Kerry in a program it first said would air on all of its stations.
Shares of the suburban Baltimore company rose around 14 percent, or 87 cents, to $7.13 on the NASDAQ stock exchange in early afternoon trading Wednesday. The shares had dropped more than 16 percent since plans for the show were first announced earlier this month.
Sinclair had announced earlier that all of its 62 stations, many in key swing states, would carry the program. The decision prompted protests from critics that the company was abusing its public trust, calls for advertising boycotts, and threats of legal action from shareholders concerned about how the decision would affect their investments.
The decision had also prompted several advertisers to ask Sinclair not to run their commercials in or around the program.
U.S. Cellular Corp., the nation's eighth largest wireless telecommunications provider, has asked Sinclair affiliates not to run its commercials two hours before, during and after the program's airing, said President and CEO John E. Rooney. Nationwide Insurance said it "plans not to advertise during this perceived politically motivated program if Sinclair Media elects to broadcast it without fair and equal opportunity for response." And Regis Corp., an operator of haircutting salons, said it has asked Sinclair not to run any of its ads near or during the program.
Company officials did not respond Wednesday to several calls for comment from The Associated Press.
Late Tuesday, Sinclair announced that parts of the film "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal," will be shown during "A POW Story: Politics, Pressure and the Media," a program examining the use of documentaries to influence elections. The company said the show will air Friday on 40 of the company's stations.
Sinclair said executives met recently with senior Kerry campaign officials but the campaign has declined to participate in the program.
Sinclair fires bureau chief
Wednesday, October 20, 2004 - Page A21
Baltimore -- Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc., a major owner of U.S. television stations, has fired Washington bureau chief Jon Leiberman, saying he revealed company business when he publicly discussed a documentary scheduled for broadcast that is critical of John Kerry's Vietnam War activities.
"We are disappointed that Jon's political views caused him to violate company policy and speak to the press about company business," the Sinclair Group said.
In his remarks, published Monday by The Sun newspaper in Baltimore, Mr. Leiberman called the documentary "biased political propaganda, with clear intentions to sway this election."
The documentary features former PoWs accusing Mr. Kerry, a decorated veteran who took up the anti-war cause upon returning from Vietnam, of prolonging the war and worsening their plight.
Last night, facing pressure from shareholders and advertisers, Sinclair Group said it would not show the film in its entirety. Excerpts will be used as part of a program examining how politically charged documentaries influence voters. AP, NYT
