Sinclair's Smith and Sherwood have histories of felony and fraud

[BurtWorm]

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Oct. 22, 2004 | Friday night brings to a conclusion the fiercest media battle of the presidential campaign, when 40 of the Sinclair Broadcast Group's 62 stations nationwide air a special program about the media and Vietnam War POWs. The show is likely to include generous portions of an anti-Kerry attack film, "Stolen Honor," that Sinclair executives had originally intended to air in its entirety just days before the election. In the face of lawsuits by stockholders, loss of advertising, questions about its abuse of the public airwaves and a falling stock price, however, Sinclair quickly cobbled together a revised program.

The controversy has thrust into the spotlight two men who both suffered dramatic, if long ago, professional blemishes that have suddenly become relevant. Their past behavior confirms their critics' worst suspicions -- that Sinclair executives manipulate the company's broadcast properties for their own gain, contrary to standard corporate practice, and that "Stolen Honor" is a misleading hit piece. The two men, who play prominent roles in Sinclair's Friday night telecast, are a conservative broadcaster who has not shied away from exploiting his television properties to serve his personal needs, and a television journalist with a right-wing agenda who once famously aired explosive allegations in a Vietnam veteran-related exposé that was later found to be completely false.

The first is David Smith, chairman and CEO of Sinclair. After being arrested with a prostitute during a sting in Baltimore, Md., in 1996, Smith, as part of his plea agreement, ordered his newsroom employees to produce a series of reports on a local drug counseling program, which counted toward Smith's court-ordered community service. "I really hated the way he handled our newsroom and what he expected his reporters to do after his arrest," LuAnne Canipe, a reporter who worked on air at Sinclair's flagship station, WBBF in Baltimore, from 1994 to 1998, told Salon.

The second is Carlton Sherwood, the producer of "Stolen Honor." Sherwood calls Sen. John Kerry a traitor for opposing the Vietnam War and concedes he never asked to interview Kerry for the documentary he made about him. This incident is not out of character for Sherwood, who has a history of erroneous reporting. In 1983, Sherwood leveled charges against the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. In a four-part series for a local Washington TV station, Sherwood suggested that the veterans responsible for creating the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall were misspending -- if not stealing -- donated money. One year later, when Sherwood's charges proved to be baseless, his former television station employer was forced to air an extraordinary retraction and donate $50,000 to the fund in order to fend off a lawsuit. "It was a hit piece," Bob Doubek, who served as project director for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, told Salon. "All of Sherwood's stuff was conjecture, smoke and mirrors."

[puddycat]

1. And don't forget the racial discrimination charges against Frederick Smith

[BurtWorm]

3. You mean this?

Questions about Sinclair executives' public behavior extend beyond Smith's prostitution arrest and the "Stolen Honor" controversy. Last week, WBAL-TV in Baltimore reported that Frederick Smith, David's brother and a Sinclair vice president, owns a Maryland trailer park that's being sued for discriminating against African-Americans. Over the past year Baltimore Neighborhoods Inc., a housing advocacy group, sent test applicants to Smith's property to inquire about possible rentals. A BNI representative told WBAL, "When the black person went in, they were told every time that nothing was available, regarding either a trailer or a slab to put the trailer on. On every occasion that a white person went in and to ask for the same availability of properties, they were given some listing of properties and more or less encouraged to apply."

Citing "blatant discrimination," BNI filed a lawsuit against Smith, alleging violations of the 1968 Fair Housing Act. Smith's attorney declined to comment to WBAL for its report about the lawsuit.

[BurtWorm]

2. 'How can employees do community service for their boss?'

Most upsetting to Canipe was the deal Smith struck with the Maryland state's attorney, which allowed him to perform his community service by having his station air reports on the Baltimore drug court. "A Baltimore judge called me up," she recalls. "He wasn't handling the case, but he called to tell me about the arrangement and asked me if I knew about it. The judge was outraged. He said, 'How can employees do community service for their boss?'"