NY Post Editorial:
Democrats are in a snit over a conser vative-leaning broadcast group's plan to air a documentary critical of John Kerry just before the election.Sinclair Broadcast Group owns 62 TV stations, many in swing states like Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania. It plans to air "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal," which criticizes Kerry for his 1971 slam against soldiers before Congress.
Sinclair wants affiliates to interrupt regular programming — including during prime time — to air what it calls a news program.
Last week, the Democratic National Committee filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission, arguing that Sinclair is violating the McCain-Feingold campaign-finance law by giving a valuable "in-kind" contribution to the Bush campaign. Kerry adviser Chad Clanton even threatened to abuse the power of the Federal Communications Commission if Kerry is elected, warning that Sinclair "better hope we don't win."
OK: The broadcast plainly is intended to aid the Bush campaign (though the negative publicity could backfire). And the show probably bears as much resemblance to "news" as Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11."
But does the DNC really want to open a can of worms over what can be aired under the guise of news?
After all, many news groups surely would fail such a test, their news coverage rendered no more than "in-kind" contributions to their favored candidates.
* Last month, CBS News ran a report claiming that President Bush shirked his Air National Guard duty, relying in large part on documents that were later revealed to be almost certainly forged.
* This month, ABC News political director Mark Halperin virtually ordered his staff to take a pro-Kerry tilt in their reporting. "We have a responsibility to hold both sides accountable . . . but that doesn't mean we reflexively and artificially hold both sides 'equally' accountable . . . " Halperin wrote in a staff memo.
* Last week, Robert Redford's Sundance Channel dedicated 51/2 hours to a "Vote for Change" concert featuring, among others, Bush-hater Bruce Springsteen. The channel also carries anti-Bush Al Franken's Air America radio show every weeknight.
And that just scratches the surface.
Are those broadcasts illegal? Should the traditionally left-leaning media get a pass on attempts to aid the Kerry-Edwards ticket because they're engaging in a more subtle form of agenda-pushing than Sinclair?
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