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Sinclair's Fakecast 31 To Be Targeted

D

dampier

It looks like the moveon people are going to put WUHF on the summer action list for special targeting of their advertisers who choose to sponsor "News" Central. The last one of these brought thousands of individual phone calls to Sinclair station advertisers in the mid-Atlantic affiliate region, plus another 5,000 e-mails, letters, etc. It essentially shut down a lot of car dealer phone switchboards to the point where they couldn't do business at all. It appeared to be more effective than their national campaign because a lot of the local advertisers who yanked spots did so not for political reasons but just so they could get their phone lines and e-mail boxes back. Several lawyers also yanked ads in some markets.

The campaign is specifically focused on alleged bias by Sinclair station newscasts, which are mostly delivered from Baltimore, and the highly biased (ridiculously so) Point commentaries which are force-aired on all Sinclair newscasts. Callers are instructed to call each advertiser on the phone list they will be supplied and complain. Not all of the calls are going to be from local viewers, but the idea seems to be that shutting down their phones and clogging their e-mail works well anyway.

The final list of dozen Sinclair stations isn't finalized yet, but it appears they are next going to target the northeast.
 
How does one reply to this post an not go political?

I decided to take my response to the Off The Air board. Follow the link to my response.
 
Re: Why Bother?

Why in heaven’s name are people going through that entire hassle against News Central? I mean who really watches 31’s news any ways?

By calling up car dealers and other organizations who do advertise on 31 this group is just confirming that they watch WUHF, otherwise how would they know what companies and dealerships to target their campaign against?

If this group really wants to make an impact just don’t bother watching News Central on any of the Sinclair stations. Once the ratings go into the toilet the harder it will be for those stations to get advertisers.
<P ID="signature">______________
"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted and I won't be laid a hand on.
I don't do these things to other people and I expect the same from them".</P>
 
Re: Why Bother?

> Why in heaven’s name are people going through that entire
> hassle against News Central? I mean who really watches 31’s
> news any ways?

I've said that all along. It used to be fun to bash Channel 8 for their lousy numbers, but after Sinclair took over WUHF, I have new respect for WROC.

> By calling up car dealers and other organizations who do
> advertise on 31 this group is just confirming that they
> watch WUHF, otherwise how would they know what companies and
> dealerships to target their campaign against?

They don't see it this way. During the John Kerry hit piece episode last year when Sinclair was going to run a fakeumentary about Kerry right before the election, the phone calls burned down a lot of their sponsors who left just to stop the phone calls. If you can't even make or receive a call in your business, the argument about whether people are watching or not quickly becomes moot. Of course, post-election, I'm sure most of those sponsors came back, but not all.

> If this group really wants to make an impact just don’t
> bother watching News Central on any of the Sinclair
> stations. Once the ratings go into the toilet the harder it
> will be for those stations to get advertisers.

Considering where they are now, I wonder if Sinclair really cares? They score brownie points with the powers that be by demonstrating their friendship to the cause, which can be real helpful when you have business before the Congress. Nobody is clamoring for The Point, but there it is. I know Rochester viewers who live or die over the weather are thrilled when they find out the forecast is coming from Baltimore. But there it is.

The real problem here isn't so much what Sinclair inserts into the news, it's that a credible news operation was sold down the river and exported to Baltimore, leaving us with a lousy product that deceives viewers.
 
Re: Why Bother?

> Why in heaven’s name are people going through that entire
> hassle against News Central? I mean who really watches 31’s
> news any ways?...
> If this group really wants to make an impact just don’t
> bother watching News Central on any of the Sinclair
> stations. Once the ratings go into the toilet the harder it
> will be for those stations to get advertisers.
>
Channel 31's numbers are already floating in the bowl, awaiting the final flush. The sad thing is, when they had a real autonomous local news operation it drew very respectable numbers and made money for Sinclair, not to mention enhancing the station's competitive position in the market throughout the day.

Now, you have to feel sorry for the few local reporters and anchors that are left. They try, they remain professionals who don't slant their part of the product the way the stuff from Maryland is ludicrously slanted. But their work is being wasted.
 
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