Article in My Way News:

Ted Koppel read the list of 721 soldiers killed in Iraq on Nightline. He read their names to honor their sacrifice, and did not make any political statements.

But we've seen that the White House has tried to prohibit showing returning Iraq coffins for fear the images would sway people against Bush in this election year. Russ Kick at The Memory Hole filed a freedom of information act appeal to get the images released.

Now a media group, Sinclair, which owns a number of ABC affiliate stations, refused to show Koppel and Nightline. Because Sinclair is lobbying for special treatment from the Bush Administration, there's suspicion that they're censoring legitimate reporting to curry political favor.

In my book, that's evil. And as you know, Don't Be Evil.

My favorite quote: "The stench of corruption here is extraordinary."

From the AP:

"Free Press, which describes itself as a national media reform group, sent its own letter to Sinclair questioning whether the company's actions violated federal rules governing 'stewardship of the public airwaves.' ...

'No one thinks for a second this decision has anything to do with journalism,' McChesney said. 'It's a politics-slash-business decision that Sinclair made because they don't want to (anger) the White House.'

Sinclair, a political supporter of the Bush administration, is trying to curry favor with the White House to bolster chances of gaining changes in station ownership rules, McChesney alleged.

'The stench of corruption here is extraordinary,' he said."