I've read it.
Sinclair is presenting the opinion of its owner. It's dispicable, it's wrong, and I feel sorry for the journalists working at Sinclair stations. It's not, however illegal.
You're falling into the "you have rights until you get big, and then we'll cut your legs off" trap.
You're saying it'd be OK for Sinclair to air this documentary if they only reached 50,000 people, but since they reach millions, it's illegal. The law does not place quantities on crimes. You don't get 9 free murders before finally being convicted for the 10th. By the same token, you don't only get prosecuted if your message reaches more than a set number of people.
I mean hell by that argument TFP could be in violation of campaign finance laws. I've been expressing anti-Bush opinions since I started posting here. TFP is read by a HELL of a lot of people. Does that mean Halx is breaking the law by allowing us to speak our mind? I think not.
Finally, as I've said before, anyone who thinks all documentaries are or must be factual or even journalistic is in fantasyland. I can't think of one single political documentary I've seen that didn't have a slant one way or the other. There is no law or regulation requiring documentaries to be fair, balanced, or even accurate.
Sinclair is not guilty of a crime. It is guilty of a complete lack of any hint of morality, but it's not a crime to be an asshole.
Besides, I'm predicting this will backfire, not only on the message they want to get out, but on the stations themselves. Viewers will NOT be happy that the network is being so obviously biased. They'll turn to other stations.
Fine by me. One of my market's competitors is a Sinclair station. It'll just help us get that much farther ahead of 'em in ratings
