In “Stations to Boycott ‘Nightline’s’ List of the Fallen”, the Washington Post is reporting that seven local ABC affiliates owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group have chosen not to air tonight’s episode of Ted Koppel’s nightly newsmagazine, which will be comprised solely of the anchor reading the names and displaying the photos of the 737 American troops who have perished thus far in Iraq.
In a statement on their website, the Sinclair Broadcast Group explains the “boycott” decision thusly:
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.
There is no organization that holds the members of our military and those soldiers who have sacrificed their lives in service of our country in higher regard than Sinclair Broadcast Group.
Likewise, there is no organization that holds the members of the free press and those journalists who have embedded themselves (and befriended subsequently-fallen troops in Iraq) in higher regard than we do here at low culture, so, in fitting tribute, we are hereby displaying the names and station ID’s of those affiliates that have “fallen” in the war on fair and accurate reporting.
WSYX, Columbus, Ohio
WEAR, Pensacola, Florida
WLOS, Asheville, North Carolina
WXLV, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
WGGB, Springfield, Massachusetts
KDNL, St. Louis, Missouri
WCHS, Charleston, West Virginia
One reply on “Fine, this just means 40 extra minutes of Jimmy Kimmel”
While they certainly are brave for putting themselves in harm’s way, I’m not sure that embedded reporters should be held up as the heroes of objective journalism.