Sinclair reporter says he was fired for criticizing film
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Washington bureau chief for Sinclair Broadcast Group said he was terminated Monday after speaking out against documentary critical of John Kerry
By Kasey Jones
The Associated Press
October 18, 2004, 10:59 PM EDT
The Washington bureau chief for Sinclair Broadcast Group said he was fired Monday after he criticized the company's plans to produce a news program based on a documentary critical of John Kerry's Vietnam-era anti-war activities.
Jon Leiberman said he was fired by Joseph DeFeo, Sinclair's vice president for news, about 5 p.m. Monday and was "escorted out of the building."
"I was told I violated company policy by divulging information from a staff meeting to The Baltimore Sun in this morning's edition," Leiberman said late Monday.
That staff meeting took place Sunday afternoon at Sinclair's headquarters in Hunt Valley, about 14 miles north of Baltimore. It was announced that the news division would produce an hourlong special based on the documentary "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal," he said.
The documentary features former prisoners of war accusing Kerry, a decorated veteran who took up the anti-war cause upon returning from Vietnam, of prolonging the war and worsening their plight.
Earlier this month, Sinclair ordered its 62 TV stations across the country to pre-empt regular programming to air the documentary.
"They're using the news to drive their political agenda," Leiberman said. "I don't think it serves the public trust."
Leiberman, 29, said in his interview with The Sun, "I have nothing to gain here -- and really, I have a lot to lose."
The reporter, who was tapped by Sinclair last year to start the company's four-person Washington bureau, said he had a contract that ran through August 2005. Sinclair told him that he was fired for cause and would receive no severance and his benefits ended immediately, Leiberman said.
He added that Sinclair would not waive his noncompete agreement, which means he cannot work in any market that has a Sinclair station.
Leiberman started with Sinclair in 2000 as a reporter for WBFF-TV in Baltimore, Sinclair's flagship station. He said late Monday, "I don't like not knowing where my next move will be and how I'm going to take care of my family."
Leiberman and his wife live in Owings Mills, a suburb of Baltimore.
But he added, "I really feel like I can sleep at night and I can be OK with my decision" to criticize Sinclair publicly.
"I know I stood up for the principles of objectivity. In journalism, all we have is credibility and objectivity."
DeFeo did not return repeated phone calls from The Associated Press. No other officials with Sinclair could be reached for comment late Monday.
Also on Monday, a Vietnam veteran filed a libel lawsuit claiming he was falsely portrayed as a fraud and a liar in "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal."
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