Adam Thierer

Sinclair Backs Down; National Catastrophe Avoided

Our long national nightmare is over. Under intense pressure from many politicians and other groups, Sinclair Broadcasting has caved in to demands that they not air a documentary critical of presidential candidate John Kerry’s Vietnam War record.

Wheh! Thank God for that. I mean, can you imagine how awful it would have been if this film would have ever seen the light of day. We might have been forced to debate the merits of the film. We might have been forced to exchange passionate views about the issues raised in the film. We might have been forced to.. to… to think!

Thank God our benevolent censors in Congress have our best interests in mind and are protecting us from the airing of such controversial viewpoints. I hope they take steps to make sure that Michael Moore documentaries never get aired before the election either. Perhaps we can put a stop to further distribution of “Fahrenheit 9/11″ before anymore people see it and are forced to think about it’s message.

OK, now that this national catastrophe has been averted, I can go back to my easy chair and watch some legitimate, politician-approved programming that is certain to tell me everything I need to know about the candidates and the issues before election day. You know, like those remarkably informative campaign commercials. I saw one the other day in which Mr. Kerry said he believed in our future and wanted to make a better America for our children. That’s nice. Funny thing is, Mr. Bush appears to be airing the exact same ads right now too. They both REALLY love our children. And the future. Good things to love, I guess.

OK, perhaps I should instead go back and watch those exciting debates one more time. I’m sure there’s some really informative stuff in there right after both candidates get past the first 20 minutes of personally thanking every single member of the audience for coming and telling the moderator how much they love him. Boy, these candidates REALLY love people. That’s good, I guess.

Hey, I’m just looking for someone to tell me what to think here. I just want to be part of the “informed electorate.” But please don’t let me see any reports or documentaries critical of these two guys. That might lead me to think that there are alternative viewpoints out there. Or, worse yet, it might lead me and others to think that not everyone loves these guys as much as they supposedly love us. And from what they tell us or allow us to hear, we just know that can’t be true. Right?

October 20, 2004 | Comments |

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    I don't understand your objections. If the market for this film really exists, then you can see it/buy it with ease commensurate with the demand, yes? Hell, the filmmakers can send you a DVD gratis if they want to. Your vacuous cries of "censorship" remind one of the Monty Python & The Holy Grail peasant: "Help, help! I'm being oppresssed!"


    Maybe what happened here is that Sinclair -- a profit-oriented business -- made a stupid business decision that blew up in their faces when advertisers indicated a disinclination to be associated with the station owners' political POV. Are you suggesting that instead a) the advertisers should not be able to exercise such judgment about where & how to spend their money, or that b) Sinclair could not have gone ahead and, the loss of revenue notwithstanding, shown the film as a matter of principle?


    I just love it that the market is always right, except when it disagrees with you.

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