Down The Rabbit Hole

The Sinclair Broadcast Group has ordered its ABC-affiliated TV stations not to air this Friday’s Nightline special in which Ted Koppel will “read the name, rank and age of more than 700 dead troops as their photos are shown.”

Sinclair executives have donated more than $16,000 in hard money to Bush and $120,000 in soft money to Republicans (and $0 to Democrats) since 2000 alone. Sinclair Vice President Mark Hyman regularly appears in nationally broadcast editorial segments, ranting about what he calls the “loony left,” and the “hate-America crowd.” And, as the Baltimore Sun has reported, Sinclair makes a point of covering upbeat stories about Iraq that, its executives claim, the so-called “liberal media” don’t think are newsworthy.

Sinclair, in other words, is yet another media shill for the Bush administration. And shills for the Bush administration don’t want those names read. Blocking the Nightline episode is right in line with Brit Hume’s minimization of the danger in Iraq, the Pentagon’s denial of public access to photos of returning coffins, and President Bush’s refusal to attend a single funeral for a U.S. soldier killed during or since the invasion. It’s about ignoring the consequences of the war.

And it’s shameless.

This isn’t about right versus left. It’s about far right versus decent. Here’s what Leroy Sievers, the executive producer of Nightline, had to say about the special episode:

These people have paid the ultimate price in our name, and it’s important to remember them whether you think the price is worth it or not. It may not be great television. But it’s the right thing to do, and that’s why we’re doing it.