Nightline Makes Farce of the Dead

News Max ^ | 5-3-04 | Armstrong Williams

[hope]

Nightline Makes Farce of the Dead

Armstrong Williams
Monday, May 3, 2004

Amidst the bloodiest month since the U.S.-led invasion began in March 2003, it has become clear that the loss of soldiers’ lives in Iraq is not just cause for anger, fear or mourning, it's also big business.

For example, consider the April 30 broadcast of Nightline, in which anchorman Ted Koppel read aloud the names of U.S. servicemen killed in the Iraq war, while their pictures were shown on the screen. Pitched as a tribute, the Nightline episode is little more than a crass attempt to cash in during May sweeps, while stoking anti-war sentiment. "Sweeps week" is the period during which networks set their advertising rates for the year based on viewership shares. By coming up big during "sweeps," Nightline figured to honor hundreds of fallen soldiers and make lots of money.

Happily, at least one major broadcaster has refused to air the show. Sinclair Broadcasting, which owns 62 TV stations, has ordered its eight ABC affiliates to drop the episode. In a released statement, Sinclair denounced the Nightline episode as part of a "political agenda designed to undermine the efforts of the United States in Iraq."

"We understand that our decision in this matter may be questioned by some," continued the statement, "but before you judge our decision, 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."

In the interest of full disclosure, I should note that I am a paid on-air analyst with Sinclair.

That said, they make a good point. If the purpose of the broadcast was to honor the dead, then where are the pictures of those killed in Afghanistan? Furthermore, the timing of the Nightline episode is curious. Memorial Day is a more appropriate time to run a tribute to fallen soldiers. That Nightline chose the eve of the primaries to air this episode, as opposed to reporting on actual news items like ongoing developments in Fallujah, seems telling.

A Nightline producer even admits that the episode was inspired by a 1969 issue of Life magazine that featured an 11-page photo layout, highlighting more than 200 servicemen killed in Vietnam during a one-week period. A caption urged readers to "pause to look into the faces ... of one week's dead." The photo spread became a flashpoint in the anti-war movement.

In their defense, ABC officials said the "Nightline" broadcast "simply seeks to honor those who have laid down their lives for this country."

Guess it's just a coincidence that they chose sweeps week to tote hate, fear and catharsis. Guess it's just an accident that they're emulating a photo layout that fueled the anti-Vietnam War movement. What a joke. What a sham. Some things should not be packaged and sold to the public. Some things should be beyond marketing, like the memory of our fallen soldiers.

They think we're going to stare weepy eyed at the screen, completely unaware that we're being exploited; that dead soldiers are being exploited in order to bolster Nightline's advertising rates, and influence the primaries. Lower than this TV cannot get.

I strongly urge viewers to follow the example of Sinclair Broadcasting and turn off.

www.armstrongwilliams.com

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[Clara Lou]

Williams makes some very good points.

The only part of Koppel's show that I saw was the snippet that Chris Wallace showed this morning. Judging by that admittedly tiny sample, I'm thinking that the audience for the show was small and decreased in size as the hour passed.

I'll be watching Chris Wallace next week to see how he answers Koppel.

[holden]

I think it was largely one-upmanship over the "let's-show-as-many-coffins-arriving-from-Iraq-as-possible" gambit, from the same type inveigling hoodwinkers who would make us think stereotyping all our troops as wholesale, deviant torturers needs no balance to the contrary.

It's not coincidence that the Left and their media leave out all of the positive things Americans have been doing for Iraq. They're purveyors of propaganda, not the unvarnished truth.

HF

[Joe 6-pack]

I'm sure it won't be long until Koppel reads a list of Americans killed, raped or assaulted by illegal immigrants.

[blanknoone]

I don't get his point about 'influencing the primaries' The primaries, for all intents and purposes, are over. Does he mean the general election? Why does he call the elections the primaries?

[capt. norm]

I hope I'm not the only one who watched "Fox News Sunday" where Chris Wallace announced an answer to Nightline and it's entitled "What We've Accomplished".

It's a salute to our troops, living or dead, and what their mission was all about.

I think Chris has turned out to be a big asset for Fox News. I know some of us had our doubts and were waiting to see some results. We may get our wish next Sunday.

[Tall_Texan]

When I found out that the Washington Post and U.S. Today both came out with similar photo spreads at the same time Koppel is running this, it's clear to me this is a DNC fax machine coordinated stunt. It's really no different than the "pro-choice" march or the Million Mom march. It's the "dead soldier march" and the media is ramped up to cover it and mine it for political points.

FWIW, we've lost far fewer lives in Iraq than what I first imagined when we went there but what has been frustrating to many is that we took Baghdad so easily but are losing so many in trying to hold our ground and snuff out the last remnants of resistance while trying to keep the infrastructure intact. War means deaths and nobody knows that better than soldiers but they still go and more sign up to the follow them. Godspeed to all our brave soldiers, alive or dead.

[Doe Eyes]

I think it was largely one-upmanship over the "let's-show-as-many-coffins-arriving-from-Iraq-as-possible" gambit

Wouldn't including the Afghanistan war dead have allowed them to show even more war dead?

[CGVet58]

mornin' Clara,

I missed the Chris Wallace broadcast this morning, but was very interested in what he was promising to say about this. Unfortunately, I haven't yet seen any postings on Freep referencing this specifically.

Could you elaborate a bit on how Chris handled this?

thanks,

CGVet58

[Wally_Kalbacken]

It's a terrible thing when people refuse to learn from history and even worse when they learn the wrong lesson from history. Much is given to the idea that when Walter Cronkite returned from Vietnam and declared it was over, it was then the beginning if the end. Methinks that Koppel wants to be the modern Cronkite and announce the similar turning point. The only problem is that Cronkite and the media made the Tet offensive the turning point and in managing imagery and its interpretation they convinced the public that Tet was some sort of strategic victory for the Vietcong. In fact it was a terrible defeat for them. It was a case of winning the battle and losing the media interpretation war. That isn't going to happen this time - due to the proliferation of media channels from which the public can receive information. Ted's just trying to have his moment, and he's wrong, and it's shameful that he would utilize the images of war dead for his personal (career) purposes.

[ChevyZ28]

I have always thought Koppel looked and acted like he has been constipated for a very long time, all though he has been spewing feces at the American public for years. In one show, he was able to eliminate all of the feces that has built up inside him. Unfortunately, he will build up again, and spew again.

[traditional1]

Another DNC Buttboy signs on to FR today..!

Where was Ted Koppel's reading of the names of the dead and their pictures from Somalia? The USS Cole? The WTC-1 ? The Arkancides? The Khobal Towers? The Branch Dividians at WACO? The dead at the OKC Murrah building?

Get a life, dufus....this sweeps week DNC-mandated Bush Bashing that was done by ABC shows their desperation in being ignored by the vast majority of THINKING Americans, and the wholesale switching of viewers from the DNC Alphabet Network news over to the FoxNews channel.

[Sgt_Schultze]

I'm sure it won't be long until Koppel reads a list of Americans killed, raped or assaulted by illegal immigrants.

You are correct. The far left mediots never fail to align themselves with the trendy notions of the "intelligencia." Today it is the US war in Iraq. Yesterday it was Mumia Abu-Jamal, and Stalin and Mao. Rest assured, tomorrow it will be some cause abherent to most Americans, like pro gay marriage or anti home-schooling. Shoot, they've already taken up those causes too.

Be further assured that you will never see the Nightline episode where the "innocent" murderer's victim's family is portrayed. We shall never see the family photo album of the victim's childrens' births, their happy anniversary celebrations, or marriages. We will never see the grieving faces of the victim's minor children as their despair is evident on their twisted, mourning faces. Those photos are reserved for the "innocent" murderer's family and the contorted mess the mediots try to spin in those episodes. You've noticed, of course, that the viedos from September 11th have all disappeared.

Ted's newest forray into "honoring" those who have fallen raises an important new question... When will Nightline be airing the updated episode? After all, how could Ted Koppel's honesty remain unquestioned if he fails to honor those in the future who make the same sacrifice of their lives? When is the next sweeps period anyway?

[Clara Lou]

Those of us who read the article know that Williams said that Sinclair was his employer. However, those of us with any sense at all know that it is possible to be paid for services by Sinclair and agree with Sinclair's choice of action.

[Clara Lou]

How can showing names and pictures have "political purposes"?
If you are sincere in the rest of your posts, then don't feign this kind of ignroance.

[tsmith130]

A Nightline producer even admits that the episode was inspired by a 1969 issue of Life magazine that featured an 11-page photo layout, highlighting more than 200 servicemen killed in Vietnam during a one-week period. A caption urged readers to "pause to look into the faces ... of one week's dead." The photo spread became a flashpoint in the anti-war movement.

THAT is how it can have politcal purposes.