Letter from Kathleen Robbins protesting to the FCC of the WICD/Sinclair Broadcasting license renewal.
_____________________________________________________
22 August 2005
Office of the Secretary
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street SW
Washington, D.C. 20554
Attn: Video Division, License Renewal Processing Team
Room2-A665
Re: License Renewal WICD Champaign, IL, WICS Springfield, IL
Dear Madam or Sir:
The Point, featuring Sinclair Broadcasting’s Vice President for Corporate Relations, Mark Hyman is produced and presented as local commentary during the local news on all 62 Sinclair stations across the country. The Point uses the public airwaves as a podium, not for the “public good” but to foster the views of the directors of Sinclair Broadcasting.
A review of the commentaries during the month of June, 2005 reveals Sinclair’s board using this unfettered access to the public to express their narrow viewpoint without any opposing commentary to address such diverse issues as:
· On June 2nd the effect of the reverse call-up during the Iraq war and the conclusion that “A drawdown of forces in Iraq and Afghanistan in the near term should help alleviate the pressures.” This despite congressional testimony that we need more, not less troops in Iraq.
· On June 5th he talked about the Lockheed Martin C-130J program that continues to produce aircraft despite Air Force objections. What he fails to mention is that this aircraft is produced in the congressional district of former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.
· On June 6th Sinclair attacked the children’s network Nickelodeon presentation of the ‘Nick News’ segment on the Alamo. He said “It is irresponsible of Nickelodeon to add to the ignorance of kids by teaching them false history while pursuing a politically correct agenda of demonizing one segment of society.”
· On June 7th in Sinclair’s segment Challenging Civil Rights Hyman said “Diversity and tolerance are terms frequently tossed about at college and universities. But many schools do not accept diverse views or practice tolerance.”
· On June 9th he talked about the pending Georgia voter picture ID requirement. To this he added “And this has angered Jessie Jackson. The race hustler has threatened to lead a protest march in August if the bill becomes law….But for some activists, clean, fair and honest elections may not get their guy elected.”
· On June 12th he quoted the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) as saying "A college or university campus is, of all places in our society, the most appropriate forum for the widest range of viewpoints." Hyman followed that by saying “It is clear that AAUP's acceptance of differing viewpoints do not include acceptance of those held by America's sons and daughters serving in uniform…Although college may be the most appropriate forum for differing viewpoints, AAUP and like-minded professors have no tolerance for views they do not like.”
· On June 14th he highlighted the Afghanistan Orphans and Widows Fund saying “The Afghan Widows and Orphans Fund was founded in 2002 by Gina Hamrah. She and her family fled Afghanistan in 1979. She returned after the ouster of Al Qaeda and the fall of the Taliban regime and was saddened by the plight of her homeland's widows and orphans - victims of the Taliban.” While this sounds like a sorely needed organization, Hyman neglects to mention the 15 years of fighting preceding the Taliban’s rise to power caused by the Soviet invasion and the impact of war against the Soviets supported by the CIA and then the United States abandonment of Afghanistan following the Soviet withdrawal.
· On June 15th Hyman attacked the ACLU saying “The ACLU's hypocritical stand on document shredding is similar to the hypocritical stand it took regarding privacy concerns. The ACLU has been extremely critical of the government and private businesses in collecting personal data. Yet the organization was found to have been collecting personal data on its own donors, suggesting its support of privacy rights somehow exempts its own organization from practicing what it preaches.”
· On June 16th Bronx Community College comes under Sinclair’s crosshairs saying “Do you believe a root cause of terrorism is the U.S. sponsored overthrow of foreign governments? Is ROTC just a group of "students [who] are going to kill people and devastate ecosystems"? Do you abide by the notion that the "FBI uses taxpayer dollars …[in] resorting to crime including theft, encouragement to murder, subornation of perjury, and manipulation of the judicial process"? Do you agree that the "CIA engages in and sponsors far more terrorism than Al-Quaeda…or any of the seven US labeled 'terrorist' sponsoring states (Iran, Iraq, Cuba, Syria, Libya, North Korea, and Sudan)? If so, then the perfect school for your child just might be the Bronx Community College. The nearly 50 year old school is part of the City University of New York system. It has an enrollment of about 8900 students. Extracurricular activities include the Revolutionary Reconstruction Club, which favors the issues I mentioned a few moments ago. And the club is quite active.”
· On June 19th it was Brooklyn Community College’s turn for scorn. Hyman said “Proper English - bad. Ebonics - good. This is the concept a student must adopt at Brooklyn Community College if he or she ever expects to graduate with a teaching degree.” “Assistant professor Priya Parmar was accused by students of promoting the notion that proper English was the language of white oppressors and that Ebonics was the language of the oppressed.” “The council's push for and the school's adoption of a mandate that calls for students to adhere to a politically correct agenda is wrong on several fronts. This includes violating the academic freedom many academics claim to favor, as well as encouraging teachers to teach skills that are just plain wrong such as Ebonics.”
· On June 21st he asserted “So far this year, nearly 70,000 illegal aliens from countries other than Mexico that have been apprehended at our borders were released back onto our cities' streets. Border Patrol Chief David Aguilar told the Senate in a hearing that his agents release illegal aliens because he has no room to detain them. Aguilar also conceded that criminals might be among those released into the general public. It is unclear if aliens from states known to sponsor terrorism are among those released. Aguilar blamed a lack of adequate intelligence for his agency's inability to properly perform its mission. The threat to America is not just from possible terrorist activity, but it also includes criminal activity and the economic pressures caused by illegal aliens using taxpayer-funded services. It is time for the U.S. to seriously overhaul our nation's illegal alien apprehension programs. This should include not only improved border security but also a lightning fast deportation process.”
· On June 26th the Sinclair board addresses school violence with Hyman saying “Snell reports that schools are under-reporting violence, truancy and drop-out rates in order to avoid sanctions under No Child Left Behind. Schools unable to make improvements would face the prospect of losing federal funds. The No Child Left Behind Act has its critics, but this much is certain. It strives to provide more information to parents, community leaders and school officials in order to make better informed decisions on school performance.”
What Sinclair’s Board offers as an opportunity to comment comes in Hyman’s closing remarks saying “Log onto www.newscentral.tv and tell me what you think. I’ll air select comments every Saturday.” A sample of what he selected for airing in June is such commentaries as:
· On June 4th Mail Bag program he read ‘selected emails’ attacking Linda Foley, President of The National Newspapers Guild and ended with “I’d like to offer several balanced comments on the other side. But I can’t. The few who wrote in support of Foley were so naked in their visceral hatred of the military that most of their remarks are inappropriate.”
· On June 11th he said in his Mail Bag segment “Newspaper Guild president Linda Foley’s outrageous claim that American service men are intentionally killing U.S. and Arab journalists in Iraq has continued to bring in email.” Then he read the following emails from Chris in Circleville, Ohio says “I hate u, u conservative idiot (sic).” While Amy in Mount Horeb, Wisconsin emailed “It is scary because some Americans still trust the news and are being slowly brainwashed with a false sense of reality.”
· On June 18th in the ‘Mail Bag’ commentary Hyman reads comments from Anders in Flint, Michigan who wrote "I was totally surprised to see my normal news intercepted and manipulated by you, the fascist tool of a media conglomerate." Kal in Columbus asked, "Was Mark Hyman hired because he is not very bright or despite it?" Jack in Norfolk, Virginia observed, "I would prefer you no longer make comments on the newscast." Jack, don't look now, but I'm not even on the air in Norfolk. Which silly email campaign are you a part of? Ted in Iowa City commented, "Is Mark Hyman a man of principle? Hardly. In fact, he's a liar." Less angry viewers included Jim from Miramar Beach, Florida who commented on Memorial Day. "We all owe our freedom to our brave young fighters." Randy in London, Ohio offered, "Thank God, we the people have somebody like you to stick up for what's right." Randy, your use of "God" will only make the Angry Left even angrier. Lila in Springfield, Illinois wrote, "I appreciate your viewpoint and your courage to discuss subjects that the mainstream media refuse to acknowledge." Jeffrey in Tampa emailed, "Thank you very much for showing the real truthful side of the story and not one that is slanted to [the] liberal side." Finally, Freder in Portland, Maine offered these tender wishes. "My wish for you is an early coronary. Get the hell off of my television and go straight to hell where you belong."
· On June 25th Hyman selected these comments to air reading Ed in Pensacola had this to say about V.A. hospital funding. "Veterans should be given a government Blue Cross/Blue Shield and be treated in regular hospitals. They will get BETTER, FASTER and more TIMELY care, while the government can close all VA hospitals." On the subject of the children's cable TV channel Nickelodeon's effort to rewrite history about the Alamo, Harold in Las Vegas remarked, "It is really insulting to me to hear that there [are] really sick people out there trying to change history, and 'teach' (brainwash) our children." David in Rochester wrote, "It is a sorry state of affairs." A Cornell University Law School interviewer's question regarding a candidate's religious background led Heather in Ithaca to ask, "I wonder why liberals preach tolerance and yet discriminate against Christians? They love Commies, but they can't take those Baptists down the street?" Sort of continuing the religion theme was Jim in Las Vegas who commented, "Let us pray that the gene pool that created such low class liars will soon dry up so truth and honesty become real words of honor and liberal means one person with a wide variety of views rather than the knee jerk radical redneck religious (?) boozers and drug addicted liars like you."
One of the original purposes of the FCC was to ensure that the public airwaves, just like public space, is free for all to use. Due to the limitations of spectrum, this is not always practical, so failing that, the corporations that benefit from free use of the airwaves have an obligation to ensure that their presentation is balanced. Sinclair Broadcasting, in the person of Mark Hyman as corporate spokesperson has clearly failed in their duty and should have their license renewal denied.
Sincerely,
Kathleen Robbins
1723 West Haven Dr.
Champaign, IL 61820
217.355.2642
krobbins513@aol.com
CC: Station Manager WICD, WICS
