The nationwide boycott in 2004 of Sinclair Broadcasting, carried out largely by the DailyKos community, was to date the single greatest display of netroots activism I have ever seen. It was the event that made me believe in the power of the internet to directly challenge the national media narrative. Those of you who were there will remember. Those of you who weren't should conduct a search in the dKos archives for "Sinclair Broadcasting boycott."
It was a stunning event. Just before the 2004 election, Sinclair planned to force its affiliates nationwide to broadcast an hour-long, commercial-free anti-Kerry attack masquerading as a documentary. When DailyKos got wind of this, the place went ballastic. Within minutes, dKos community members had written in from all over the country with lists of advertisers on Sinclair stations, the advertiser's phone numbers, names of store managers, etc. Instructions were drawn up on how to politely tell these advertisers that we were no longer buying their products because of Sinclair's plan to air the anti-Kerry hit piece.
Read More
