New York
The nation’s second-largest chain of TV stations announced it would pre-empt regular programming two weeks before the presidential election to air a documentary criticizing Democratic candidate John Kerry for protesting the Vietnam War. A spokesman for Sinclair Broadcasting Group, whose top executives are major donors to President Bush’s campaign, said Kerry demoralized POWs by saying Americans had committed atrocities in Vietnam. Democrats filed a complaint with election officials, saying broadcasting the film, Stolen Honor, amounted to an illegal contribution to Bush’s campaign. Several Sinclair investors said they weren’t happy about the move either. “I don’t want my media companies that cover news to be making news,” said Barry Lucas of Gabelli & Co., which owns 4 percent of Sinclair. The company owns 62 stations, many in battleground states such as Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
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