MEDIA COMMENTARY:

Who's Really "Playing Politics"?

If the Sinclair Broadcast Group's track record of political contributions is any indication, executives at the media group have allowed their own "political agenda" to dictate the decision to censor "Nightline." Sinclair executives give overwhelmingly to Republican causes and candidates. Of the top twenty TV and Radio companies to make political contributions in 2004, Sinclair Broadcasting Group is among the most conservative, giving 98 percent of its $65,434 in political contributions to GOP candidates. Sinclair CEO and President David Smith personally gave $2,000, the maximum individual contribution, to President Bush's 2004 re-election campaign.

In a fax to the press Thursday, the Baltimore-based media company, whose holdings include 62 local TV stations, said that by airing Friday's "Nightline" program, "ABC is disguising political statements as news content."

During the ABC News broadcast, anchorman Ted Koppel will read aloud the names of more than 500 US service men or women who have lost their lives in the war, as a corresponding photo appears on the screen along with that person's name, military branch, rank and age. In an emailed statement, ABC News "respectfully disagreed" with Sinclair's view of the program saying that the "Nightline" broadcast is intended "to honor those who have laid down their lives for this country."

The only "political agenda" in play is that of the Sinclair executives, who decided to blackout a television report intended to honor war dead.

Sinclair's snub of "Nightline" -- and their disingenuous rationale for the action -- smacks of censorship and political manipulation.

In an election year, we expect our media to report on all facets of the war in Iraq in a manner consistent with the standards of balance and accuracy that they themselves espouse.