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Sinclair becomes a ray of hope.
Put aside Bush and Kerry for a moment and look at this thing that we have done for it is important.
Two weeks ago, Sinclair Broadcast announced it would make an uninterrupted two hour 'documentary' on a political figure, and they would force their 60+ stations to run this thing. Regardless of whether you hate the guy they were going after or not, this is a scary thing. However, what might have marked the end of western democracy instead proved it was still alive.
Average people with little money or power rose up and got active. They called sponsors who pulled their advertising, they petitioned the FCC because this is a violation of the agreements that all television stations must sign in this democracy to present equal time for different political views. Rather than laying down at the feet of corporate power, we stood and faced it and look at it now. Sinclair's stock has dropped 11% in the last week, the years and countless millions they've put into lobbying to give them broader FCC rights to own more stations and voice a more single-minded view has been cast in such bad light that they'll never be granted that power, and they have backed down from trying to force their stations to run this political ad uninterrupted. Of course, they'll still be running parts of it, but it won't go without challenge, nor will stations be forced to carry it uninterrupted, and it has crippled their bid to expand their power further.
We the people did this. Not congressmen or judges but regular average people who took a stand. It really gives me great hope. I often feel so defeated in the face of corporate power in america and yet in this I see that they are not unstoppable. If you get enough people mad enough, we can stop them in their tracks. When the election is done we need to continue this fight and work to take back our country. Sinclair's arrogance has shown us that we can do it. We just have to try.
Two weeks ago, Sinclair Broadcast announced it would make an uninterrupted two hour 'documentary' on a political figure, and they would force their 60+ stations to run this thing. Regardless of whether you hate the guy they were going after or not, this is a scary thing. However, what might have marked the end of western democracy instead proved it was still alive.
Average people with little money or power rose up and got active. They called sponsors who pulled their advertising, they petitioned the FCC because this is a violation of the agreements that all television stations must sign in this democracy to present equal time for different political views. Rather than laying down at the feet of corporate power, we stood and faced it and look at it now. Sinclair's stock has dropped 11% in the last week, the years and countless millions they've put into lobbying to give them broader FCC rights to own more stations and voice a more single-minded view has been cast in such bad light that they'll never be granted that power, and they have backed down from trying to force their stations to run this political ad uninterrupted. Of course, they'll still be running parts of it, but it won't go without challenge, nor will stations be forced to carry it uninterrupted, and it has crippled their bid to expand their power further.
We the people did this. Not congressmen or judges but regular average people who took a stand. It really gives me great hope. I often feel so defeated in the face of corporate power in america and yet in this I see that they are not unstoppable. If you get enough people mad enough, we can stop them in their tracks. When the election is done we need to continue this fight and work to take back our country. Sinclair's arrogance has shown us that we can do it. We just have to try.
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And it will happen, I can sense it, people are fed up with this bullshit and are demanding a change, and America is going to win.
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Alan Hevisi, who manages funds for NYS, sent a letter.
It's about time people realized that less conservative people HAVE MONEY TOO.
Maybe the bedpan cleaners of the 1199 make only about $30k a year, and it's not well paying (but it's honest work). But the 1199 as a whole is a political force to sit up and pay attention to. And this is why people have to pay attention to what groups they may belong to. Unions, civic associations, maybe their small town has investments, whatever. See where your tax dollars, union dues, donations are going. You think they go just to services, they don't. They're going to places like Sinclair broadcasting. I say, if you get the chance, check your 401Ks, your pensions, your annuities, see where your money is going. It might be an eye opener. The spousal unit is gonna try to get some answers at his union meeting Tuesday nite. I almost feel sheepish for not checking this stuff out before.
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I read somewhere that we lost this back in the late 1980's... stations don't have to bother to present equal time anymore.
Equal time or not this was such a blatant stunt to influence the presidency that people finally got fed up enough to call them on it.
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...But Reagan vetoed Congress's approval to continue enforcing the law in the mid-eighties, yes.
There's more than one reason it would violate their FCC approval, anyhow.