Dear MoveOn member,
Tonight, ABC's Nightline is doing something beautiful and courageous.
The entire show will consist of a reading of the names of each soldier
who has fallen in Iraq, while his or her photograph shows on the
screen.
But ABC affiliate stations around the country will be prohibited from
airing the special. That's because they're owned by Sinclair
Broadcasting Group, a company whose executives have given tens of
thousands to Republicans and whose right-wing allies tout it as "the
next Fox." <1>
In a statement released earlier this week, the company said that to
honor the men and women who died in this way would be a political act
that is "contrary to the public interest." Censoring images of the
fallen serves the right-wing ideologues who pushed the war in Iraq,
but it certainly doesn't serve our country to hide those who were
killed.
In order to highlight this censorship and let other media outlets know
that it's not OK, we're asking you to write a letter to the editor of
your local paper. It doesn't actually take very long -- you can do it
in ten minutes or less.
We've added some tips and talking points below. Once you've written,
please let us know at:
http://www.moveon.org/sinclair.html?id=2761-3117687-gPgO.3tCx0fL6rw9_FRvxgMilitary families have called on Sinclair to air the special tonight.
Jane Bright of Military Families Speak Out is the mother of Sgt. Evan
Ashcraft, who died July 24, 2003, near Mosul, Iraq. She said: "The
Sinclair Broadcast Group is trying to undermine the lives of our
soldiers killed in Iraq. By censoring Nightline they want to hide the
toll the war on Iraq is having on thousands of soldiers and their
families, like mine." <2>
According to ABC News, "The Nightline broadcast is an expression of
respect which simply seeks to honor those who have laid down their
lives for this country."
Yet Sinclair refuses to distinguish between public mourning and a
statement against the war: "Despite the denials by a spokeswoman for
the show the action appears to be motivated by a political agenda
designed to undermine the efforts of the United States in Iraq." <3>
Take a few minutes to write a letter to the editor to make sure the
word gets out. Tips and talking points are below.
Nightline is also certain to get lots of nasty right-wing hate mail
about this broadcast. Show them the overwhelming support for this sort
of recognition of the young men and women killed in Iraq with a quick
note at:
http://www.moveon.org/r?494Finally, you can call on Sinclair to honor our troops and run the
Nightline special at:
David D. Smith, CEO
Sinclair Broadcast Group
(410) 568-1500 x1504
After you take action, let us know at:
http://www.moveon.org/sinclair.html?id=2761-3117687-gPgO.3tCx0fL6rw9_FRvxgThen tune in to ABC tonight to see Nightline's special tribute to our
lost servicemen and women.
Sincerely,
- Carrie, Joan, Noah, Peter, and Wes
The MoveOn.org Team
Friday, April 30th, 2004
Sources:
<1>
http://freepress.net/news/article.php?id=3334 <2>
http://www.mfso.org/ <3>
http://poynter.org/forum/?id=misc---