Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Is ABC Too Close To Obama White House Now?

Story here.

"In the absence of opposition, I am concerned this event will become a glorified infomercial to promote the Democrat agenda. If that is the case, this prime time infomercial should be paid for out of the DNC coffers. President Obama does not hold a monopoly on health care reform ideas or on free airtime," Ken McKay, Chief of Staff for the Republican National Committee, wrote in a letter to ABC News President David Westin.
(...)

Rich Noyes, research director at the Media Research Center, said the amount of time being dedicated exclusively to Obama's platform presents a problem for those claiming fairness.

"Will the opponents of President Obama's health care plan get an equal shot at the debate on the airwaves? This is an awful lot of time that ABC is giving over to one side of the debate," Noyes said. "This is an issue of such importance, the public really requires a balanced debate."

The Internet is being to heat up with some conservative bloggers calling for people to boycott advertisers on ABC. One blogger wrote that "all Americans who are opposed to a major media arm becoming a visible branch of the presidential political machine" should use the marketplace to voice their objection.

So much for the famously promised openness and transparency. So much for giving the other side equal time and opportunity.

And these guys believe in imposing the so-called "fairness doctrine" onto talk radio, which is dominated by rightly successful conservatives?