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David
Smith's Response to Senator McCain
Dear Senator
McCain:
I am writing
to respond to your letter to me regarding Sinclair Broadcast Group's
decision not to air this evening's episode of "Nightline."
Let me begin
by saying that no organization more fully supports our military
than Sinclair. In no way was our decision intended to show any
disrespect to the brave members of our military, particularly
those who have sacrificed their lives in service of our country.
To the contrary, our decision was based on a desire to stop the
misuse of their sacrifice to support an anti-war position with
which most, if not all, of these soldiers would not have agreed.
Senator McCain,
together with you, I also support the President's decision to
go to war in Iraq. Moreover, while I don't disagree that Americans
need to understand the costs of war and sacrifices of our military
volunteers, I firmly believe that responsible journalism requires
that a discussion of these costs must necessarily be accompanied
by a description of the benefits of military action and the events
that precipitated that action. To those who would accuse Sinclair
of censorship, we ask that they consider the daily decisions of
network shows like "Nightline" as to what issues to
cover and how they are to be presented, decisions that necessarily
involve ignoring other issues and points of view that the networks
choose not to present to the American public.
Sinclair's
news coverage during the last year has reported on all aspects
of the war in Iraq, including the tragic loss of lives of military
combatants. In fact, we will be replacing "Nightline"
this evening with a balanced report addressing both sides of this
controversy. It is worth noting that "Nightline" and
its host, Ted Koppel, have ignored repeated requests from Sinclair
to comment on their decision regarding the content of tonight's
program.
It is "Nightline's"
failure to present the entire story, however, to which Sinclair
objects. "Nightline" is not reporting news; it is doing
nothing more than making a political statement. In simply reading
the names of our fallen heroes, this program has adopted a strategy
employed by numerous anti-war demonstrators who wish to focus
attention solely on the cost of war. In fact, lest there be any
doubt about "Nightline's" motivation, both Mr. Koppel
and "Nightline's" executive producer have acknowledged
that tonight's episode was influenced by the Life Magazine article
listing the names of dead soldiers in Vietnam, which article was
widely credited with furthering the opposition to the Vietnam
war and with creating a backlash of public opinion against the
members of the U.S. military who had proudly served in that conflict.
In closing,
I would like to quote for you the words of Captain Kate Blaise
of the U.S. Military. Captain Blaise served in Iraq as a member
of the 101st Airborne Division and suffered the loss of her husband
Mike who was killed while also serving in Iraq. In commenting
on exactly the type of practice which "Nightline" intends
to employ, Captain Blaise had this to say:
"I was
watching the news, watching this anti-war demonstration and they
were reading off names of soldiers who had fallen in Iraq and
they read off my husband's name. That made me very angry because
he very strongly believed in what he was doing and they were using
his name for a purpose that he would not have approved of."
I hope that
this letter has adequately addressed your concerns and explained
why Sinclair has taken this action. I would welcome the opportunity
to discuss this with you in greater detail. In addition, if you
are available, we would be delighted to provide you with a chance
to be part of our program this evening discussing this issue.
Sincerely
yours,
David D. Smith
Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.
Original source: http://www.sbgi.net/press/release_2004430_67.shtml
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