[Peace-discuss] Fwd:Madison, Wisconsin Boycott of Sinclair

[jencart]

Sorry this is cut off but you get the idea
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http://www.madison.com/tct/news/index.php?ntid=14032&ntpid=0

 Customers hound Fox advertisers
Restaurants pull Channel 47 ads

By David Callender
October 14, 2004

One local business has decided to pull its ads from 
WMSN/Channel 47 in the wake of the station's decision to air  an anti-John Kerry documentary next week.

The owners of the Paisan's and Porta Bella restaurants said  that after receiving about a dozen complaints about the  program, "we just decided that we didn't want to jeopardize  losing any customers over this," said owner Jerry Meier.

He was among several business owners who said they have  received numerous calls from patrons upset that they 
advertise on Channel 47.

Channel 47 is one of 62 stations nationwide owned by Sinclair  Broadcast Group Inc. that are being forced to pre-empt  regular programming to air "Stolen Honor: Wounds that Never  Heal." The show will air here on Oct. 22.

A Web site for the documentary states that it shows how  American prisoners of war in Vietnam suffered because of  Kerry's 1971 congressional testimony opposing the war.
Advertisement:

But Sinclair, on its Web site, said that the program, which  it described as a "special news event ... has not been 
videotaped and the exact format of this unscripted event has  not been finalized. Characterizations regarding the content  are premature and are based on ill-informed sources."

A grassroots network has sprung up to protest the broadcast,  and several Web sites provide lists of major advertisers on  each for each local Sinclair station. The state Democratic  Party is helping to organize local opposition here.

Meier said his restaurants began receiving calls on Tuesday  and the volume picked up on Wednesday.

"I took most of the calls, and the people were very polite  and well-behaved," said Meier. "But most of them said they  were long-time customers and they weren't going to come in as  long as we continued to advertise on Channel 47."

Meier said he and fellow owners Walter Borowski and Ed  Shinnick decided to drop the ads, which he said they had  begun sponsoring on a trial basis.

Other businesses also reported a steady stream of calls, but  some owners said the callers weren't so polite.

"There's a lot of hostility out there," said John Cannarella,  owner of A-1 Furniture in Madison. "People are very upset  with what's taking place."

Cannarella, who said his store has received more than 30  calls, said there was one polite caller, "and the rest were  very negative. One lady threatened me, 'If you don't get off  the air on Channel 47, I'm going to tell all my friends never  to shop at A-1 again.'"

Cannarella said this was the first time in his store's 25 
years that he's encountered such protests. He noted that A-1  advertises more heavily on Madison's other three broadcast  stations.

But he said the store has no intention of pulling its ads 
from Channel 47, which like other Sinclair stations is 
reportedly airing the controversial program commercial-free.

"It's not like we're sponsoring this program," he said. "But  this is almost like force overcoming rational thinking."

He suggested that instead of attacking local 
businesses, "people should put their energy into contacting  the general public and convincing them not to watch the show."

Two other major advertisers - American TV of Madison and  Madison-based American Family Insurance - each reported  getting more than two dozen phone calls and several e-mails  on Wednesday.

A company spokesman for American TV said the retailer has not  yet decided what, if anything, to do about its ads on Channel  47.

American Family spokesman Steve Wit