STOP SINCLAIR!
As you may have heard, Sinclair Broadcast Group--owner of TV stations that reach 25% of American viewers and owner of KMWB here in the Twin Cities--has decided to pre-empt programming right before the election to air a documentary, Stolen Honor, that bashes John Kerry's service in Vietnam. Sinclair was the network that refused to air Nightline's episode The Fallen, where Ted Koppel read off the names of soldiers killed in Iraq, deeming it a political act (Ah, the irony: "patriots" who won't honor the dead, fierce partisans bemoaning perceived partisanship!). For more on their rightwing bias and disturbing embrace of centralized, non-local news, read my piece "The Death of Local News."

Here's what you can do: several websites have been set up, one hosting a petition and another, more effectively, offering contact info for companies advertising on Sinclair-owned stations, nationally and locally. Please, write a letter to these advertisers, especially in your town where you can have more impact. Then, search for markets in swing states, where Sinclair's Kerry-bashing can do more damage (the "Barely Kerry," "Weak Kerry," and "Barely Bush" states shown here), and put pressure on advertisers there. Feel free to repurpose my letter, and make sure to indicate you're local when writing to a hometown business:

Good morning,
I'm disturbed by the Sinclair Broadcast Group's decision to air a biased documentary that attacks John Kerry on the eve of this year's election--and I urge ((Company Name)), as an advertiser on Sinclair-owned ((Station call letters)), to withdraw advertising from them to protest this affront on democracy. The airwaves Sinclair broadcasts on are owned by the people, and we grant Sinclair's stations licenses to use those airwaves for free. We ask only one thing in return--programming that serves the public good. The anti-Kerry documentary and the timing of its airing are suspect, both because the network refuses to broadcast both sides of the story (say, a Fahrenheit 9/11-style film critiquing Bush) and because it's running this blatantly one-sided smear when it can most affect the election. As an advertiser on ((Station)), you have the leverage I don't to hold the station and Sinclair to a higher standard of objectivity. I hope you will.

For more on Sinclair, visit OpEdNews. To write letters to the editor of your local paper on this issue, use my favorite letter-writing tool--the one with poetic justice built right in--thoughtfully provided by the campaign to re-elect George W. Bush. (Or use MoveOn's.)

Update 1:27 pm: Free Press is on the job, offering a site that has a comprehensive report on grievances against Sinclair, as well as a way for you to send a complaint to the FCC. Visit Sinclair Watch.

Update 3:08 pm: Sinclair's NewsCentral has an online poll about whether the network should run the documentary. Can't imagine they'll listen, but the "no's" are at 70%.