Update on Sinclair - NewsHour with Jim Lehrer

The NewsHour is running a segment now (7:30pm EST) on the Sinclair issue.  The framing report mentions the owners' support of Bush, their strength in battleground states, and the Nightline "Fallen" issue.

Something tells me that even though the NewsHour people are trying to be, er, fair and balanced, it's not going to go well for Sinclair...

•  bam!

  He got crushed!  Man, it's easy when you don't have to answer the hard questions posed by Fox.

  by sarkhan on Tue Oct 12, 2004 at 08:35:32 PM PDT

  •  Details?

    by gsp on Tue Oct 12, 2004 at 08:37:40 PM PDT

•  Actually

  I thought the Kerry representative was pathetic.  If Sinclair can do THAT well on the news hour, they won't even need to run the segment in order to win this issue.  Actually, they've already won this issue haven't they?  We're wasting our time talking about it and the low level message of "kerry the disloyal soldier" is the white noise in the background.

  Very disheartening.

  by Mambo on Tue Oct 12, 2004 at 08:40:46 PM PDT

  •  The DNC spokesman made a great point at the end

    Asking viewers to consider whether or not they feel the discussion they just witnessed was one between a political operative (himself) and a newsman (Hyman) or two political pundits.

    by princemyshkin on Tue Oct 12, 2004 at 08:51:33 PM PDT

    •  agreed

      he was good at times and horrible at others.  virciperous (sp?)  What the hell is he talking about that for?  I know its PBS and all, but still . . ..  He kept referring to "Kerry's enemies" and "the republicans" when he should have been demonizing this group as -- the right wing zealots; crusaiders and the like.

      we still lose just by talking about it.

      .02  

      by Mambo on Tue Oct 12, 2004 at 08:56:02 PM PDT

  •  The DNC guy totally killed him

    I had a totally different read. The Sinclair guy was a joke and had no valid points. The DNC person kept pounding him about it being free advertising for Bush. The money line...

    This isn't Russia, news organizations have an obligation to be non-partison. What you are trying to do is clearly not.

    I really think this is going to blow back on them. We have done so much damage to its credibility, that no one who is not a Bush cheerleader is going to watch it. Also, many will be pissed if they miss their favorite show.

    by DrSpike on Tue Oct 12, 2004 at 09:06:23 PM PDT

•  Whether you think this issue is a distraction or

  not, one thing is now clear to the right-wingers.  The libs/progressives/dems/whatever can mount an effective campaign against right-wing bias and prevail with advertisers, thus taking away their precious moolah.  

  by LionelEHutz on Tue Oct 12, 2004 at 08:46:50 PM PDT

  •  That is the message

    And we need to keep it in their faces 24/7/365.

    No breaks on or after Kerry's victory on 2 Nov 2004, either.

    Don't give those repug-creeps even a single molecule of O2 or a single moment to inhale it.

    by understandinglife on Tue Oct 12, 2004 at 08:53:05 PM PDT

    •  Fighting a marketing war is great

      but not in the october preceeding an election.

      SBG can cancel its plans to air the documentary and still win.  Hell, maybe we should take a day off from talking issues to celebrate if they cancel the airing???

      by Mambo on Tue Oct 12, 2004 at 08:58:21 PM PDT

      •  This is not a 'marketing war'

        In my opinion; it is a comprehensive response to one of many threats to our efforts to elect Kerry/Edwards.

        And, it seems that numerous other issues are being dealt with, simultaneously.

        So I'm hopeful that we are witnessing the earliest moments of a sustainable, flexible, intelligent, diligent, quick, 'grass roots' mechanism to participate as citizens in our democracy.

        by understandinglife on Tue Oct 12, 2004 at 09:15:28 PM PDT