Tonight the ABC News program “Nightline” will show photographs of all the U.S. troops killed in the Iraq war, while Ted Koppel reads their names.
I won’t be able to see it. Here in Columbus, Ohio, the local ABC affiliate won’t be airing the program, on orders from station owner Sinclair Broadcast Group.
It appears that some desk jockey decided it would be “contrary to public interest” to recognize the men and women who’ve made the ultimate sacrifice in this war. They fear that viewers will be less enthusiastic about the war if they recieve information about the lives lost fighting it.
They may be right. In fact, it seems to me that any information about the cost of the war, in lives or money, is apt to sap our enthusiasm for this war. Any information that suggests that Iraqis feel anything but undying gratitude for liberating the country may have the same effect. Likewise, any story that suggests that relations with some of our long-time allies have been strained. We can’t have that.
In light of Sinclair’s insight, it seems obvious that the “public interest” requires an end to reporting anything that might be interpreted as “bad news” about the Iraq war. I’ll bet there are folks in the Pentagon and the White House who would be glad to let the news media know which stories they can carry, and which stories the public interest requires be stifled.
Spink Nogales | 10-Aug-06 at 1:37 am | Permalink
I’ve read that many of the executives of Sinclair Broadcasting have donated the maximum amount for an individual of $2000 to the Bush Campaign, while donating nothing to the Democratic candidate. It seems that a trend is developing in broadcasting.
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brainrow :: A Chilly Veterans Day | 04-Sep-07 at 10:28 am | Permalink
[…] in Columbus, Ohio). This seems to fit right in with Sinclair’s decision earlier this year to ban Nightline’s tribute to fallen U.S. soldiers in […]