McCain rebukes Sinclair 'Nightline' decision Station owner orders affiliates not to air program
(CNN) -- The decision of Sinclair Broadcast Group, which ordered its seven ABC stations not to broadcast Friday's "Nightline," has received criticism from U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona).
Friday's show will air the names and photographs of the more than 500 U.S. troops killed in the Iraq war.
"Your decision to deny your viewers an opportunity to be reminded of war's terrible costs, in all their heartbreaking detail, is a gross disservice to the public, and to the men and women of the United States Armed Forces," McCain, a Vietnam veteran, wrote in a letter to David Smith, president and CEO of Sinclair Broadcast Group. "It is, in short, sir, unpatriotic. I hope it meets with the public opprobrium it most certainly deserves."
In a statement online, the Sinclair group said the "Nightline" program "appears to be motivated by a political agenda designed to undermine the efforts of the United States in Iraq."
Sinclair's decision, announced Thursday, drew angry calls from the public and a sharp response from ABC News.
"We respectfully disagree with Sinclair's decision to pre-empt 'Nightline's' tribute to America's fallen soldiers," ABC News said in a statement. "The 'Nightline' broadcast is an expression of respect which simply seeks to honor those who have laid down their lives for this country."
Some of the stations have received many calls and e-mails in response to Sinclair's decision.
"I have not gotten one positive response," said an assignment desk editor at WSYX, the ABC station in Columbus, Ohio.
WEAR in Pensacola, Florida, has been inundated with phone calls and e-mails. A man who answered the phone in the station's newsroom said people mostly wanted to know why the decision was made.
On the Web site for WLOS in Asheville, North Carolina, the station invited viewers to e-mail the station and said it would forward the messages to Sinclair.
The company's other ABC stations are in St. Louis, Missouri; Charleston, West Virginia; Winston-Salem, North Carolina; and Springfield, Massachusetts.
Debate over images
The show, titled "The Fallen," will air at 11:35 p.m. Friday. In it, newsman Ted Koppel will read the names of the U.S. troops killed in action while their pictures are shown to viewers.
As of Thursday, 533 U.S. troops have been killed in action in the Iraq war; another 204 troops have died from nonhostile incidents.
Sinclair general counsel Barry Faber confirmed the company told its ABC affiliates not to air Friday's "Nightline."
"We find it to be contrary to public interest," he said.
ABC said that on the first anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, it aired the names and pictures of all those who died on that day.
"ABC News will continue to report on all facets of the war in Iraq and the war on terrorism in a manner consistent with the standards which ABC News has set for decades," it said.
Similarly, USA Today led its front page Friday with photos of every U.S. soldier who died in Iraq in April. One hundred thirty-four American troops died in the month, of which 119 have been identified by the Pentagon, the paper noted; it ran pictures of the 116 for which photos were available.
Sinclair's statement said ABC is politicizing the war.
"Mr. Koppel and 'Nightline' are hiding behind this so-called tribute in an effort to highlight only one aspect of the war effort and in doing so to influence public opinion against the military action in Iraq," the statement said.
According to campaign finance records, four of Sinclair's top executives each have given the maximum campaign contribution of $2,000 to the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign.
The executives have not given any donations to the campaign of Sen. John Kerry, the presumptive Democratic nominee, the records showed.
Sinclair owns and operates, programs, or provides sales services to 62 stations in 39 markets, according to its Web site.
In addition its ABC outlets, Sinclair's television group includes 20 Fox, 19 WB, six UPN, three CBS and four NBC affiliates, and two independent stations.
It reaches approximately 24 percent of all U.S. television households, according to the Web site.
ABC News will show the tribute live on its large television screen in New York's Times Square.
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