Thursday October 21, 2004

Stolen Honor’s Sales Pitch

Lest there be any doubt about Sinclair Broadcasting Group’s original plan to air Stolen Honor in its entirety — or any doubt about the fact that even its creators view it as a partisan drive-by — here’s a promotional email I received from the Stolen Honor site after I signed up to receive email alerts:

Kerry Wants To Stop Stolen Honor Video

John Kerry and his Democratic allies are so worried that you will see this film, they have launched a major effort with the FCC to prevent Sinclair Broadcasting from airing it before Election Day.

Kerry’s aides have even threatened Sinclair, hinting that if they are elected they will exact revenge.

But John Kerry has reason to be afraid that you and millions of Americans will see Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal.

In fact, this video documentary includes many of the same Vietnam veterans and POWs who have appeared in the Swift Boat commercials — commercials that have rocked the Kerry campaign and caused his first major decline in the polls.

So it is just a Swift Boat ad writ large. And it’s main selling point is that it will rock the Kerry campaign and cause him to decline in the polls? This is not the way journalists, or even Michael Moore, generally measure success. This should put to rest any doubts that this is propaganda — in both substance and intent — rather than “news,” as Sinclair claims. Good material for challenging those licenses, folks.