SINCLAIR BROADCASTING IS "CONTRARY TO THE PUBLIC INTEREST"

Atriosnotes that Sinclair Broadcast Group has ordered its ABC-affiliated stations not to carry tomorrow's "Nightline," which will air the names and photos of soldiers who have been killed in combat in Iraq.
Sinclair General Counsel Barry Faber tells the site: "We find it to be contrary to the public interest." Here.

For a "fair and balanced" look at Sinclair. An excerpt:

"TV Barn's Mark Jeffries calls Sinclair the 'Clear Channel of local news,' a reference to the San Antonio, Texas, media giant that has grown from 40 to more than 1,200 stations today thanks to the 1996 Telecommunications Act, which relaxed radio ownership rules. But the parallels extend beyond their growth strategies. Jeffries describes Sinclair as having a 'fiercely right-wing approach that makes Fox News Channel look like a model of objectivity,' while Clear Channel is best known for sponsoring pro-war 'Rallies for America' during the Iraq conflict. And like Clear Channel's CEO L. Lowry Mays – a major Republican donor and onetime business associate of George W. Bush – the Sinclair family, board, and executives ply the GOP with big money. Since 1997, they have donated well over $200,000 to Republican candidates."