This unbiased "special news event" (in their words) is going to pre-empt prime time scheduling this week on all of Sinclair Broadcasting's stations across the country. They own 62 TV stations in 29 markets that reach approx. 24% of US TV households, and they ordered all of them to show the film.
Since the fairness doctrine was eviscerated years ago by the FCC, I guess it's okay to show one-sided films without also presenting the other side, but to present this as "news" rather than just a film is breaking new ground in broadcast journalism.
They claim to have asked Kerry to "participate" in a panel discussion, I guess in order to defend himself against accusations in the film. To them, having Kerry or his people in a panel discussion after showing the film represents a balanced presentation to TV viewers.
The other day, one of Sinclair's journalists was fired for protesting this program as not falling in the category of news and feared for a loss of credibility for his news dept. Didn't matter. He was terminated for being a disgruntled employee. FYI, a documentary film is not "news"; it's a film maker's interpretation of news events - it's an important difference that is being ignored by the owners and directors of Sinclair.
This film probably falls under the same category as Fahrenheit 9/11. If you want to see this "news event", at least buy a ticket like you have to for Moore's movie.
Here's a google search page for info about this event:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=Sinclair+Broadcasting
If you watch it, keep an eye out for this company's attempt to make this a news event and to present the case for both sides.
with justice and liberty for all,
Sherwood