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Sinclair boycott call falling on deaf ears
Democrats don't want documentary to air 10/20/04
Ginny Terhune
Owings Mills Times

A call by some Democrats to boycott companies that advertise on television stations owned by Sinclair Broadcasting Group of Hunt Valley appears to have had little effect in Baltimore County.

Democrats want to block the planned airing on 60 stations around the country later this week of an anti- John Kerry documentary called "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal."

Sinclair did not return calls Oct. 15 about whether the documentary will run on one or both of Sinclair's local stations, which include WBFF (Fox 45) and WNUV (WB 54) in Baltimore.

The Boycott Sinclair Web site, which is linked to the Democratic National Committee Web site, encourages visitors to call Sinclair stations, boycott the advertisers and sign a petition to protest the show.

"It's a free, hourlong attack ad to be broadcast to 25 percent of American households," said Ryan O'Doherty, director of communications and research for the Maryland Democratic party.

The Boycott Sinclair site, run by Nick Davis, lists nearly 40 Baltimore-area companies that advertise with Sinclair, including Bill Bateman's Bistro of Towson and the Frankel car dealerships of Hunt Valley and Owings Mills.

Bateman's received an e- mail Oct. 18 from a customer who indicated he, his family and friends would not patronize its restaurants if the company did not pull its ads off Sinclair stations, said Michael Rolfes, a Bateman's manager.

Rolfes said he would talk to other managers, the company ad agency and owner Bill Bateman about how to respond to the situation.

Robert Frankel, president and owner of the Frankel dealerships, said Oct. 18 that neither of his locations had received calls from customers about the documentary.

But even if customers call and threaten to boycott his business, they will not divert Frankel from sticking with its advertising plan, he said.

"We stay away from politics," Frankel said. "We advertise where we think we can reach our audience."

A call to Heritage Automotive in Owings Mills, which, according to Davis, is another Sinclair advertiser, was not returned Oct. 18.

Representatives at Sinclair did not return calls for comment last week.

"I don't think there's been a falloff in advertising," attorney Steven Thomas, who represents Sinclair Broadcasting, said Oct. 15.

The "Stolen Honor" issue is low on the interest list for local Republican volunteers, a party official said.

"I've heard more buzz about the debates and how the polls are changing every day than I have about this documentary," said Chris Cavey, chairman of the Baltimore County Republican Party.

"When you get within two weeks of the election, there is an intensive focus on going door to door, sign waving," he said.

"There's so much work building up to Election Day that everybody's maxed."

Some Democrats are more concerned, however.

"Personally, I think it's outrageous," said Joseph Ferraracci, chairman of the Democratic Central Committee for Baltimore County, who also objected to the what he says is the unrelenting pro-Bush slant of the commentary on Sinclair's Channel 45.

"I think it's very unfair - I think if it were reversed, (the Republicans) wouldn't like it," he said.

Hot controversy

The Sinclair show is expected to include all or part of the 40-minute "Stolen Honor" documentary, which features interviews with 17 former prisoners of war, none of whom are from Maryland.

The POWs claim that Kerry's anti-war testimony in 1971 prolonged the torture of American prisoners in Vietnam.

"Stolen Honor," which was financed by a group of former POWs from Harrisburg, Pa., can be purchased or viewed for a fee over the Internet.

Sinclair's broadcast could include a panel discussion and response by Kerry or a surrogate, said the company's lawyer.

The Kerry campaign has indicated its candidate will not appear but has asked for equal time to counter the allegations.

Democrats also filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission Oct. 12, hoping to pressure Sinclair into dropping the program.

The FCC is not likely to respond to the complaint before the election, however, said Joseph Sandler, attorney for the Democratic National Committee.

The Democrats alleged that Sinclair's running of the entire documentary violates the FCC's definition of news and therefore is an illegal, in-kind contribution by a corporation to the Bush campaign.

Members of the Smith family, which controls Sinclair, are strong supporters of Republican candidates, and Sinclair stations have editorialized against Kerry, Democrats say.

Sinclair argues that the POW allegations in "Stolen Honor" constitute legitimate news and major television networks had a chance to report the story a month ago but didn't.

Meanwhile, FCC Chairman Michael Powell, a Republican appointed by former President Clinton, has rejected requests from more than 100 Democrats in Congress to investigate whether the show violates equal- time rules.

Powell reportedly said Oct. 14 that blocking the show would violate the First Amendment right of free speech. He also said the FCC usually does not review complaints about shows until after they have aired.

Sinclair, meanwhile, is dealing with another aspect of the controversy.

The company posted a note on its Web site Oct. 15 saying it may bring civil charges against whomever is sending bogus e-mails to the general public while pretending to be Sinclair CEO David Smith.

The bogus e-mail is titled, "Update on Kerry POW Film and FEC Ruling."

Owings Mills Times