Iowans for Better Local TV

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Recent Media News

Item 1

Sinclair Broadcast Group to retire

controversial on-air commentator

Mark Hyman

According to a report a November 3 news report in the Baltimore Sun, Sinclair Broadcast Group (SBG), owner of our local troubled TV station KGAN, plans to take Mark Hyman off the air as of the end of November. The Sun article stated that Hyman:

"announced that he plans to drop his daily commentary, known as 'The Point,'at the end of the month to spend more time with his four children.

Hyman also told the Sun that "I'm exhausted."

IBLTV wishes Hyman and his children well and hopes that the cessation of the commentary of "The Point" augers well for KGAN and a return to a higher level of civility and local news coverage. Followers of KGAN TV news realize that "The Point" -- an often polarizing, inaccurate, and inflammatory 1-2 minute interruption of the local news, ursurped local news programming by injecting the politics and peculiar points of view of KGAN's Maryland owner. Local viewers have had no meaningful way to rebut or engage Hyman's one-sided screeds against his perceived "hate-America crowd".

It is not known whether or not SBG is truly granting its stations greater local control by dumping Hyman's contentious commentary or if it will supplant one non-local commentator with another Hyman figure.

It is our hope that Hyman's depature is the result of some sensitivity on the part of SBG that the intrusion of "The Point" repelled viewers (KGAN lost market share since SBG has taken it over) and the fact that many parties, including IBLTV, have filed official complaints and petitions with the FCC citing how such negative, one-sided commentary hardly serves the common good.

Another report of the "Departure of Point" can be read at Broadcastnewsroom.com

Item 2

Local Iowa Cable TV may no longer carry KGAN:

Sinclair demands greater payments from local cable in order for it to continue carrying KGAN and KDSM, Sinclair's two Iowa stations.

As reported in the November 2, 2006 edition of the Des Moines Register, cable subscribers in central and eastern Iowa are close to losing access to local Sinclair stations (KDSM of Des Moines and KGAN of Cedar Rapids / Iowa City) because of a dispute between the cable company, Mediacom and Sinclair. As reported by the Register "Sinclair has insisted that Mediacom pay $1 million more than the cable provider is willing to pay to carry its television stations."

Furthermore, the Des Moines paper reported the following:

"In a statement to customers on the company’s Web site, Mediacom Regional Vice President Steve Purcell said Sinclair’s actions are penalizing cable customers 'who will ultimately bear the cost and inconveniences of Sinclair’s extreme behavior.'

Purcell’s statement said Mediacom has improved the picture quality of both stations by investing millions of dollars in its delivery system.

Purcell encourages customers to call the stations’ managers and tell them to accept a fair offer from Mediacom. He encouraged advertisers to place commercials with stations other than those owned by Sinclair and told people to write to officials including mayors, congressmen and the Federal Communications Commission 'so that enough public outrage can be brought to bear on Sinclair.'

Item 3

Iowans for Better Local Television

is still awaiting FCC's response

In December of 2005, IBLTV filed a "Petition to Deny" to the Federal Communications Commission in response to KGAN TV-2's FCC filing for renewal of its eight-year license granting it the privilege to use Eastern Iowa's public airwaves.

Subsequent to IBLTV's filing, IBLTV has responded to legal maneuvers by Sinclair to dismiss our Petition to the FCC. IBLTV ferverently hopes that the FCC holds its mission to guide broadcasters to serve the public interest and take the substative issues raised in the petition with due seriousness.

Click here for more information about the IBLTV petition and access to a copy of it.