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Not all Sinclairs are named Upton

Published Friday, October 22, 2004 by seanlmccarthy | E-mail this post

As a McCarthy not related to the late Commie-fighting Joe, I understand that surnames often extend beyond relations and can be linked to non-relatives who nevertheless besmirch my family's name. I wish for the day when I never have to see another politician utter the word "McCarthyism" or see that ism trumpted in a headline ever again. What would Upton Sinclair make of the Sinclair Broadcast Group?

Sinclair Broadcast Group caused a stir these past two weeks by announcing it would force all 62 of its TV stations to air an anti-Kerry film in primetime, then firing its Washington bureau chief for daring to speak ill about the decision, and finally retreating to a "neutral" position by airing an hourlong special instead about that film and other election-related propaganda.

My beef with this all along has been Sinclair's decision to give away free airtime. If the boss wants his stations to air something, so be it. Then again, even that might go against the company's "ethics" policy, which talks about avoiding conflicts of interest. Oh well. Upton, I feel your pain.