As has been noted, Sinclair Broadcasting, the largest owner of local TV stations in the US is ordering its affiliates to run an hour long “documentary” on John Kerry a few days before the elections. Given the people involved in making this “documentary” its pretty clear that its going to be an hour long attack ad with the same factual content and moral authority as the swift boat vets for truth ads.
Sinclair, is trying to get around the federal mandates around offering equal time by, on the one hand, claiming this hackjob is “news” and on the other hand inviting Kerry to legitimize this attempt at character assasination by inviting him to appear for some sort of panel discussion.
Various people are organizing boycots of Sinclair. I’d suggest that anyone going to the trouble of contacting Sinclair’s advertisers also make sure that the bank analysts covering the stock know about your position. I’d suggest sending them a summary of the advertizers you’ve contacted and why. Most are already aware that Sinclair has chosen politics over responsibility to its shareholders, but it will be good to reinforce what that action could cost.
I’ve included names and contact info on the investment analysts covering Sinclair as an extension of this post.
Jim Boyle (212) 891-5038 james.boyle@wachovia.com
Marci Ryvicker, CPA (212) 891-5009 marci.ryvicker@wachovia.com
Paul T.Sweeney 212 325 9024 paul.sweeney@csfb.com
Shawn Feely, CFA 212 538 3903 shawn.feely@csfb.com
Sean P. Butson, CFA spbutson@leggmason.com (410) 454-5917
Lamont N. Corprew, CPA lncorprew@leggmason.com (410) 454-5872
Victor B. Miller, IV 212 272-4233 vmiller@bear.com
Christopher H. Ensley 212 272-3171 censley@bear.com
Tracy B. Young 212 272-0178 tyoung@bear.com
Timothy Wallace timothy.wallace@ubs.com +1-212-713 1432
Allison E. Brown allison.brown@ubs.com +1-212-713 8968
Armando Gutierrez armando.gutierrez@ubs.com +1-212-713 8471
William M. Meyers, CFA 1.212.526.6011 wmeyers@lehman.com
Meyers also released a recent note titled something like “Sinclair
management chooses politics over shareholders”