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January 8, 2005
Staples - Sinclair - Media Matters Conclusion
The affair seems to have reached a conclusion. Pretty much, anyway. I won't blog anymore on it unless something big develops.
Bottom line; don't boycott Staples.
Staples is apparently standing by their last press release, issued Thursday, in which they say that "Staples does not have a policy against advertising on Sinclair Broadcast Group" and that they have been "misrepresented by an organization with no affiliation to Staples."
Amy Ridenour, who was investigated this story closely, doubts that Staples has a political agenda.
Media Matters seems to be standing by their position also, namely that "1) Staples won't be advertising on local news programming on Sinclair stations as of January 10, 2005; and 2) that decision was based in part on the activism generated by SinclairAction.com."
Sinclair Action is still posting their January 4 press release in which they say that
Media Matters for America today announced that Staples, Inc. will no longer advertise on local news programming on Sinclair Broadcast Group TV stations nationwide. Citing an effort to be responsive to customer concerns about Sinclair's injection of partisan conservative politics into its nightly newscasts, Staples, Inc. attributed its decision in part to the response the company received from customers visiting the SinclairAction.com website.
They also claim that "Staples officials reviewed, edited, and approved the Media Matters press release of January 4 2005." No names are mentioned, however.
Sinclair Broadcast Group weights in with their own press release on the matter:
P.S. The President and CEO of Media Matters for America is none other than David Brock. Brock was the darling of conservatives after he wrote "The Real Anita Hill" in 1993. Within a few years, however, he changed his mind and become a liberal/leftist.BALTIMORE (January 7, 2005) - Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:
SBGI) is pleased to note that in a press release issued on January 6, 2005
and as posted on their website (www.staples.com), office supply retailer
Staples, Inc. states that it intends to continue to advertise on Sinclair
television stations and has no policy against advertising in Sinclair news
programming. The Staples' statement also notes that political agendas do
not drive its media buying decisions and that its media buying process with
Sinclair "has recently been misrepresented by an organization with no
affiliation to Staples.
Read the whole thing.
P.P.S. I'll start my Just War Theory series Monday. Stay tuned.
Posted by Tom at January 8, 2005 9:53 AM
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