Pissed in Pyongyang, North Carolina

The following is the text of an e-mail that I just sent to Sinclair Broadcasting Corporation, owner of local ABC affiliate ABC-45 in Winston-Salem, over their outrageous decision to not air tonight’s “Nightline” broadcast that will read the names of soldiers killed so far in Iraq. The e-mail expresses my feelings just as well as anything I could re-hash in this space.

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As a United States citizen and a resident in the ABC 45 (Winston-Salem, NC) viewing area, I find Sinclair Broadcast Group’s decision not to air tonight’s broadcast of “Nightline” reprehensible, hypocritical, and a gross abuse of your power and privilege as a steward of the public airwaves.

Your statement claims “Despite the denials by a spokeswoman for the show, the action appears to be motivated by a political agenda designed to undermine the efforts of the United States in Iraq.” It could just as easily be stated that your decision to not air tonight’s “Nightline” episode appears to be motivated by a political agenda designed to mute the voices of those who discuss the price this country is paying for our actions in Iraq. Your decision to censor Mr. Koppel smacks of the very political bias of which you accuse him and his program. This is hypocrisy of the highest degree.

Further, who are you to judge what is and what is not a political statement, and therefore what should be shared across our public airwaves? While there are no doubt people whose opposition to the war will increase when they see the names of these casualties read this evening, there are also people whose resolve to support the war will increase to ensure that these men and women did not die in vain.

Who are you to pre-judge the reaction of the public that granted you stewardship of its airways in the first place? We have given you this privilege such that we might share in the free expression of ideas, not so that you can censor communication that does not match with your political ideology. This is the United States of America, not North Korea.

How are we to ever trust in your stewardship of our airwaves after this? What prevents you from blocking our access to broadcasts that discuss gay marriage, healthcare, or any other hot button issue of the day? Will discussion of these topics be deemed as “motivated by a political agenda” as you assert with the “Nightline” broadcast? Where can we count on you to draw the line? The answer is that we can’t. Once you have traversed this slippery slope we can never have faith again in your willingness to uphold the First Amendment. Censoring this broadcast this evening will represent a breach in trust that many others and I will never forgive.

Lastly, your call for us to “first question Mr. Koppel as to why he chose to read the names of 523 troops killed in combat in Iraq, rather than the names of the thousands of private citizens killed in terrorist attacks since and including the events of September 11, 2001″ makes absolutely no sense. What’s your point? Perhaps Mr. Koppel didn’t read the names of the 9/11 victims because they’ve already been read publicly and broadcast to the nation on the last two anniversaries of the attack. Your affiliates did broadcast these events, right? Or did you also censor these as broadcasts motivated by a political agenda designed to undermine U.S. efforts against terrorism?

The reading of the names of 9/11 victims serves as a reminder to most Americans about the needless loss of life that day. There is little debate about this. There is, however, considerable debate as to whether the lives being lost in Iraq are being lost needlessly or not. “Nightline” is attempting to bring that debate into our homes by describing the loss in terms more detailed than we get simply by watching the nightly news.

Whether Mr. Koppel’s views on this subject are politically motivated or not is not for you to decide. It is for we the American public to decide. Sadly, your irresponsible and repressive censorship of this broadcast will prevent Americans like myself from being able to make that decision.

Shame on your company. I urge you to reverse this decision and fulfill your responsibility to the American people. Your refusal to air this broadcast only serves to erode the freedoms that our men and women in Iraq - whom you claim to support - are fighting for.

Sincerely,
Jamie Gaines
Summerfield, North Carolina