A guest on Sean Hannity's show on Monday night compared Obama administration policies to Nazism.
Ironically, disabled Marine veteran David Hedrick, who attended a town hall held by Rep. Brian Baird (D-WA), was on the show to discuss his anger that the congressman compared unruly town hall protesters to "brown shirts"
So, Hedrick threw out his own charge against the White House, despite the fact that the administration itself has not used such language to describe protesters:
Hannity responded, "OK," and continued to ask Hedrick about his experience at the town hall, where the veteran claims that Baird refused to apologize to him.
okay, if bush could get phil donahue fired for opposing the iraq war, and dan rather fired for questioning his air national guard record and ted kopple fired for wanting to name the dead in the iraq war, why can't we, as liberals get rush limbaugh, glenn beck and sean hannity muzzled?
Phil Donahue on his 2003 MSNBC firing: "We had to have two conservatives on for every liberal. I was counted as two liberals."
NEW YORK, Sept. 20, 2004
Newsman No Longer Has Confidence In Authenticity Of Bush Guard Documents (CBS) Below is the text of CBS News Anchor Dan Rather's statement on the documents purportedly written by President Bush's National Guard commander: Last week, amid increasing questions about the authenticity of documents used in support of a "60 Minutes Wednesday" story about President Bush's time in the Texas Air National Guard, CBS News vowed to re-examine the documents in question-and their source-vigorously. And we promised that we would let the American public know what this examination turned up, whatever the outcome. Now, after extensive additional interviews, I no longer have the confidence in these documents that would allow us to continue vouching for them journalistically. I find we have been misled on the key question of how our source for the documents came into possession of these papers. That, combined with some of the questions that have been raised in public and in the press, leads me to a point where-if I knew then what I know now-I would not have gone ahead with the story as it was aired, and I certainly would not have used the documents in question. But we did use the documents. We made a mistake in judgment, and for that I am sorry. It was an error that was made, however, in good faith and in the spirit of trying to carry on a CBS News tradition of investigative reporting without fear or favoritism. Please know that nothing is more important to us than people's trust in our ability and our commitment to report fairly and truthfully. ©MMIV, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.
From SourceWatch On Friday, April 30, 2004, ABC News extended Ted Koppel 's 'Nightline' program to 40 minutes to air The Fallen , during which Koppel read the names of "more than 700 U.S. servicemen and women killed in action" in Operation Iraqi Freedom . [1] The following is an overview regarding the media control which was exercised by Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. The Fallen on its affiliates.
"ABC newsman Ted Koppel's plan to devote [the Friday, April 30th] 'Nightline' to reading the names of the more than 700 U.S. servicemen and women killed in action in Iraq has stirred anger and praise, and prompted one media company to bar its stations from airing the program.
"Maryland-based Sinclair Broadcast Group said Thursday that the unique program is politically motivated and ordered its seven ABC affiliates ... not to air it." Hartford Courant , April 29, 2004
"The ABC Television Network announced on Tuesday that the Friday, April 30 edition of 'Nightline' will consist entirely of Ted Koppel reading aloud the names of U.S. servicemen and women killed in action in Iraq. 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.
"There is no organization that holds the members of our military and those soldiers who have sacrificed their lives in service of our country in higher regard than Sinclair Broadcast Group. While Sinclair would support an honest effort to honor the memory of these brave soldiers, we do not believe that is what 'Nightline' is doing. Rather, Mr. Koppel and 'Nightline' are hiding behind this so-called tribute in an effort to highlight only one aspect of the war effort and in doing so to influence public opinion against the military action in Iraq. Based on published reports, we are aware of the spouse of one soldier who died in Iraq who opposes the reading of her husband's name to oppose our military action. We suspect she is not alone in this viewpoint. As a result, we have decided to preempt the broadcast of 'Nightline' this Friday on each of our stations which air ABC programming.
"We understand that our decision in this matter may be questioned by some. Before you judge our decision, however, we would ask that you 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 . In his answer, we believe you will find the real motivation behind his action scheduled for this Friday. Unfortunately, we may never know for sure because Mr. Koppel has refused repeated requests from Sinclair's News Central news organization to comment on this Friday's program."
"We respectfully disagree with Sinclair's decision to pre-empt Nightline's tribute to America's fallen soldiers which will air this Friday, April 30. The Nightline broadcast is an expression of respect which simply seeks to honor those who have laid down their lives for this country. ABC News is dedicated to thoughtful and balanced coverage and reports on the events shaping our world with neither fear nor favor -- as our audience expects, deserves, and rightly demands. Contrary to the statement issued by Sinclair, which takes issue with our level of coverage of the effects of terrorism on our citizens, ABC News and all of our broadcasts, including 'Nightline', have reported hundreds of stories on 9-11. Indeed, on the first anniversary of 9-11, ABC News broadcast the names of the victims of that horrific attack. In sum, we are particularly proud of the journalism and award winning coverage ABC News has produced since September 11, 2001. ABC News will continue to report on all facets of the war in Iraq and the War on Terrorism in a manner consistent with the standards which ABC News has set for decades."
The list of the names of the "servicemen and women who will be honored on Friday's 'Nightline' ... organized alphabetically by state and includes those whose names have been released by the Pentagon since March 19, 2003. Names released between now and Friday April 30, will be added to the broadcast." Also "'Nightline' reading list of fallen troops," Chicago Sun-Times , April 30, 2004.
Blatant Partisan Politics "LOS ANGELES The Los Angeles Times reports that a broadcast group has ordered its TV stations around the country to air an anti-John Kerry film days before the election."
"Sinclair Broadcast Group owns or programs content for stations in 62 markets, including several swing states."
"The Times says it has ordered stations to run "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal ." The documentary features former P-O-Ws blaming Kerry's anti-Vietnam War efforts for prolonging their plight."
"Sinclair gained attention in April when it refused to air a "Nightline" segment on seven stations. In the segment, Ted Koppel read the names of U-S soldiers killed in Iraq. Sinclair called it a political statement disguised as news." Broadcast group to air anti-Kerry film on eve of election
BBC News - 11 October 2004 - Anti-Kerry film ignites new row :
"The Sinclair TV Group, whose executives have given tens of thousands of dollars to President George W Bush's re-election campaign, have revealed plans to show the film later this month, followed by a panel discussion to which they say Senator Kerry will be invited."
About Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.
Commentary Wes Vernon, "Sinclair, The Next Fox, 'Fair and Balanced'," NewsMax , January 29, 2004.
William Hughes, "Sinclair TV: 'Good News' Stories About Iraq?," Baltimore Chronicle , April 17, 2004.
Paul Schmelzer, "The Death of Local News," AlterNet , April 23, 2004.
Al Tompkins, "Inside the Decision to Feature 'The Fallen'," Poynter Online , April 27, 2004; updated April 29, 2004.
Richard Huff, "Ted taps war's toll. A 'Nightline' devoted to Iraq dead," New York Daily News , April 28, 2004.
Bill Carter, "'Nightline' to Read Off Iraq War Dead," New York Times , April 28, 2004.
"TV roll-call of US dead in Iraq," BBC/UK, April 28, 2004.Al Tompkins, "Koppel Defends 'The Fallen'. 'Nightline' anchor expresses his surprise at the reaction to Friday's show and explains its genesis and purpose. Friday evening update: ABC breaks the boycott in at least five Sinclair cities," Poynter Online , April 29, 2004.
Danny Schechter, "Is Nightline Taking The Right Line?," Media Channel , April 29, 2004.
Russ Rizzo, "Local ABC affiliate pulls plug on 'Nightline' special," News Record , April 29, 2004.
Liz Halloran, "`Nightline' divides audience," Hartford Courant , April 29, 2004.
Timothy Karr, "Broadcaster's Own 'Political Agenda' Plays Part in Nightline Snub," Media Channel , April 29, 2004.
Paul Waldman, "Putting the Kibosh on Koppel," The Gadflyer , April 29, 2004.
"The protein wisdom interview: Ted Koppel," celluloid-wisdom.com , April 30, 2004.Harry Jaffe, "ABC Makes End Run Around Conservative Blackout of Nightline," The Washingtonian , April 30, 2004.
Lisa de Moraes, "Stations to Boycott 'Nightline's' List of the Fallen," Washington Post , April 30, 2004.
Al Tompkins, "ABC Breaks Through Nightline Blackout," Poynter Online , April 30, 2004.
"'Nightline' To Air On ONN," Ohio News Network, April 30, 2004.Dan Gillmor, "Right-Leaning Media Barons Black Out ABC's Airing of War Dead," Silicon Valley .com , April 30, 2004.
Bill Carter, "Some Stations to Block 'Nightline' War Tribute," New York Times , April 30, 2004.
David Folkenflik, "Sinclair stations won't air 'Nightline'," Baltimore Sun , April 30, 2004.
Patrick Barrett, "US TV blackout hits litany of war dead," Guardian/UK , April 30, 2004.
Ted Koppel, Letter to Washington Post : "Not a Ratings Stunt," April 30, 2004, in response to Lisa de Moraes' "On 'Nightline,' a Grim Sweeps Roll Call," Washington Post , April 28, 2004.
Lynn Elber, "'Nightline' War Dead List Causes Uproar," AP, April 30, 2004.
Paul Waldman, "More on Sinclair Broadcasting," The Gadflyer , April 30, 2004.
"Sinclair's Cynical Agenda," Center for American Progress , April 30, 2004.Action Alert: "What Sinclair Doesn't Want You to See on Nightline," FAIR , April 30, 2004."Uproar over 'Nightline' war casualties list grows. McCain chastises TV station group for not airing show," AP, April 30, 2004.Keven Drum, "War Deaths," Political Animal , April 30, 2004.
Josh Grossberg, "The 'Nightline' Photo Flap," E Online , April 30, 2004.
"McCain rebukes Sinclair 'Nightline' decision. Station owner orders affiliates not to air program," CNN, April 30, 2004.Senator John McCain (R-AZ):
McCain quote: "McCain Calls 'Nightline' Pre-Emption 'Unpatriotic'," tvweek.com , April 30, 2004.
"McCain to Sinclair: I protest your decision," poynter.org , April 30, 2004.U.S. Senator John McCain Press Release : "McCain Letter to Sinclair Broadcast on Preemption of Nightline ," April 30, 2004.David D. Smith, Letter: "Sinclair Responds to Senator McCain," sbgi.net , April 30, 2004.
Fallout "Take Back the Media" Action Alert: "Boycott Any and All Sponsors of Sinclair." "Hiding the Toll of War AGAIN: Iraq War Casualty Families Call for Immediate Reversal of Sinclair Decision to Block Airing of Nightline Program Military Families Available for Interview," Military Families Speak Out , April 29, 2004.Deborah Zabarenko, "Iraq Torture Images Vie with Photos of U.S. War Dead," Reuters, April 30, 2004: "Images of naked Iraqi prisoners, piled in a pyramid before grinning U.S. soldiers, shocked the world but they were supplanted in American media on Friday by pictures of military casualties at the end of the war's deadliest month."
Kevin Diaz, "Senator seeks probe of broadcaster who won't air 'Nightline'," Beaufort Gazette , April 30, 2004: "In a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell, Sen. Mark Dayton , D-Minn., said Sinclair's action 'highlights the growing danger of media consolidation in this country.'"
Robert Cox, "Ted Koppel Excuses Wear Thin," The National Debate , April 30, 2004.
Steve Gorman, "ABC Spars with Broadcast Group Over 'The Fallen'," Reuters, April 30, 2004: "Fighting back against a seven-city boycott of its "Nightline" roll call of U.S. war dead in Iraq, ABC News said on Friday it would make a special feed of its tribute available to radio and TV stations in markets where the program is being preempted."
"Conan on Sinclair," The Hamster , May 1, 2004: "Conan O'Brien just aired a short skit criticizing Sinclair Media for not airing the Nightline episode. The announcer, Joel Goddard, read the names of some of the shows Sinclair media stations DID broadcast, including smutty Maury Povich and Jerry Springer episodes."Lynn Elber, "'Nightline' War Dead List Causes Uproar," AP, May 1, 2004.
"Row over TV list of US Iraq dead," BBC/UK, May 1, 2004."Controversy Rages as TV Show Lists U.S. War Dead," Reuters, May 1, 2004.Bill Carter, "Debate Over 'Nightline' Tribute to War Dead Grows, as McCain Weighs In," New York Times , May 1, 2004.
SourceWatch Resources
External links NPR's Scott Simon talks with Ted Koppel, who, after more than 25 years hosting ABC's Nightline, is leaving the anchor chair -- and ABC News.
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SCOTT SIMON, host:
The end of "Nightline" as we now know it is approaching. Ted Koppel will host his last broadcast of the show on November 22nd and will step down from the program he helped invent more than 25 years ago.
(Soundbite of "ABC News Nightline")
Announcer: This is "ABC News Nightline." Reporting from Washington, Ted Koppel.
Mr. TED KOPPEL (Host): Good evening. This is a new broadcast in the sense that it is permanent and will continue after the Iran crisis is over.
SIMON: Since its beginning, Ted Koppel has won scores of the most prestigious awards in broadcasting and delayed bedtime for millions of Americans who've come to consider "Nightline" to be a kind of national stage and town hall, shedding light and often striking sparks with Mr. Koppel's signature interviews and what can only be called his moral authority. He's been both gracious and pugnacious, sympathetic and exacting, friendly but unflappable and sometimes unforgiving.
(Soundbite of "Nightline")
Mr. KOPPEL: I understand.
Unidentified Man: Well, let me just speak...
Mr. KOPPEL: I understand the rationale.
Mr. GEORGE BUSH (Former Vice President): ...what I think I'm entitled--but you just don't like my answer.
Mr. KOPPEL: No, what I'm saying is I find your answer to the question...
Mr. BUSH: You ask the question, but you don't like the answer. What do you want me to say?
Mr. KOPPEL: I find the answer inconsistent with the evidence, is what I'm saying.
Mr. BUSH: Well, that's your opinion. Dan, I'll take all the credit, all the blame for that if you...
Mr. KOPPEL: No, Dan--Dan--Dan's the other--Dan's the other fella.
Mr. BUSH: I mean Ted.
SIMON: That's then Vice President George Bush getting Koppelted over the Iran-Contra affair. We sat down with Ted Koppel over at ABC this week. He remembered that in November of 1979 when he was first called in to host a late-night news special about the taking of US hostages at the embassy in Tehran, he thought the story just wouldn't last.
Mr. KOPPEL: I didn't for two reasons. The selfish one was that it was a Sunday morning and I really didn't want to go in to work. The more cerebral answer was that there had been a similar incident just a few months previous and the then US ambassador had come out, had spoken to the students and they had given up after just a couple of hours. And I said, `This thing isn't going to last and it'll be over in a matter of hours.' And they said, `Well, come in anyway.' So I did, and it wasn't, and that was the beginning of "Nightline."
SIMON: How much did the technology that was just coming into use then contribute to making a show that was lively and could be topical and where you could actually have people talk to each other directly?
Mr. KOPPEL: Huge, because we discovered, more by accident than anything else, that it was possible to have one person sitting in Tehran and another in Moscow and another in Washington and since they could all hear each other, it simply remained for me, as the host of the tea party, to say, `Well, foreign minister, why don't you respond to what the defense minister here just said?' And before you knew it, you had people, who under normal circumstances wouldn't talk to each other, engaging in the most extraordinary free-wheeling conversations. We had Iranians talking to Iraqis during the Iran-Iraq War. We had Israelis talking to Palestinians. We had Irish Protestants talking to Irish Catholics. And we were able to maintain the mythology that they weren't really talking to each other because they were talking through me.
(Soundbite of "Nightline")
Mr. KOPPEL: And it perhaps symbolic of the delicacy with which the negotiations proceeded just to bring this panel together and to bring this audience together, but it has been suggested to me that we need a symbolic divider between our Israeli guests on the one hand and our Palestinian guests on the other. I must tell you that it has been so difficult to arrange this broadcast that that was one small price that we were prepared to pay. So here it is. I will try and spend as much time on one side as on the other. Let me, in fact, as I move across our fence right now, let me go immediately to one of our panelists and I'm going to be introducing...
(End of soundbite)
Mr. KOPPEL: And it would be `Well, Ted,' and then the other guy would come back. And as long as you said, `Well, Ted,' before he gave his response they weren't really talking to each other.
SIMON: Your first interview with Nelson Mandela, what was that like?
Mr. KOPPEL: Well, it was--I wasn't alone. I mean, Dan Rather was there, and I forget who the hell was there for NBC, but there were a lot of--you know, there were a lot of people there and we were all, in effect, as smoothly as possible trying to elbow each other out of the way to get the first interview. I mean, it didn't really make any difference. We all got it for our programs that night.
(Soundbite of "Nightline")
Mr. KOPPEL: Take me back to Robben Island for a moment. Explain--pretend for a moment that one of your grandchildren is here. To someone who has no idea what Robin Island was like. Do you remember the first day or the first night when you were taken there?
Mr. NELSON MANDELA (Nobel Prize Recipient): Oh, yes. I was at the back with another comrade and there were two others in front. And they were very harsh. And then I whispered to my colleagues that, `Look, we must fight right from the beginning. They must know what type of men we are right from the beginning.'
(End of soundbite)
Mr. KOPPEL: You know, it's rare--I don't know about you but over the years I tend to--I tend to become--Lily Tomlin has a wonderful line. She says `No matter how cynical I get, I can never keep up.' And I tend to feel that way about most public figures that I have met. Very few of them live up to the expectations. Nelson Mandela did...
SIMON: Yeah.
Mr. KOPPEL: ...and does.
SIMON: Do you think the growth of the show and the way with--among a great many Americans it seemed to be a way of announcing that an issue was important, is something you've been able to take advantage of and move the viewing public along, issues that you've taken on?
Mr. KOPPEL: I don't think so. I'm afraid there is just too much of us, Scott, too much media. I sometimes think we have become so obsessed with the means of communication that have been developed that we have lost all contact with the message that is being conveyed. And part of the problem is that because, at least at our end of the microphone in commercial broadcasting, we have to worry about selling product. More emphasis is placed now on trying to tailor the news and tailor the stories that we cover to the perceived interests of our favored commercial customers rather than newsmen and women doing what I've always believed we should do and that is tell people what is important, try to make it as interesting as we possibly can, but focus on the importance of the issues rather than focusing simply on what it is they think they want to hear and see.
SIMON: Is there some lesson in "Nightline," though, that you can do an outstanding program and tens of millions of Americans will watch it? And somebody ought to be able to make a lot of money doing that.
Mr. KOPPEL: Yeah, and--look, let's face it. Over the years first Paramount and then Cap Cities and more recently Disney has made quite literally hundreds of millions of dollars, and they have compensated me handsomely for being in some small measure responsible for their making all that money. And it is only fair--and I have no complaint with the system, it has served me very, very well--that as we make less money and as I made more money over the years with each passing contract, that my importance to the company diminished rather than rose. In other words, I cost more, I'm bringing in less, therefore, it's time to bring in a new group who cost less and who, one will hope, bring in more of an audience and, therefore, more money.
SIMON: Just this, bluntly, what are your feelings toward ABC at this point?
Mr. KOPPEL: Wonderful.
SIMON: Mm-hmm.
Mr. KOPPEL: I've had--I've had a--look, I was 23 when I came here. I'm 65 now and it's been a joy. I cannot imagine any other profession that would have given me as much satisfaction, as much pleasure and as much comfort in the final analysis as this one has, and that's been ABC. I joined ABC when ABC was fifth in a three-network race and lived to see the day Peter--Peter Jennings and I, you know, dreamed when we were in our early 20s that we would somehow be party to making ABC a network that would rival NBC and CBS. And we did, and that's a source of great, great pleasure.
SIMON: Ted Koppel, thanks very much.
Mr. KOPPEL: Thank you.
SIMON: Ted Koppel will host his last "Nightline" on November 22nd. "Nightline" will continue with new anchors and a new format. Ted Koppel will keep on going, too.
(Soundbite of "Nightline")
Mr. KOPPEL: That's our report for tonight. For all of us...
Here at ABC News...
This is Ted Koppel in Mogadishu...
Lipowalk(ph)...
Wilmington, Delaware...
Moscow.
We'll be back in Washington next week.
I'm Ted Koppel in Ramallah. For all of us here at ABC News, good night.
(Soundbite of "Nightline" theme)
SIMON: This is WEEKEND EDITION. I'm Scott Simon.
