sinclair affair

you’ve no doubt heard about sinclair broadcasting and how it’s forcing all of its 62 national network affiliates (including abc, nbc, and cbs stations) to air a full length partisan hack job distorting john kerry’s service and activism during vietnam: Stolen Honor is set to air this thursday night, prime time (although rumours are now circulating that they've scaled back the number of stations due to 'swift' criticism - we'll see). this may be the most disgusting display of corporate interference in democracy to date - groups everywhere are planning a fight-back.

we're doing an event tomorrow night as part of a national coordinated action to promote the real story with a film that promotes kerry’s experience. at memorial union on the campus of UW-Madison, we’re hosting a screening in solidarity with other screenings of the same film that will take place at the same time in locations across the country.

the film, Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry, is a feature length documentary that examines the story of kerry and the key events that made him the national figure we know today. the film highlights his bravery during vietnam and his courageous opposition to the war upon his return.

until yesterday, we were awaiting confirmation of a big-wig celeb to come and introduce the flick. if you can believe it, the 'maybe' list included justin timberlake, rosie o'donnell, madonna (or is it esther now?), or sarah jessica parker. the call came at around 5pm that we get none of the above. in a pinch, madison mayor david cieslewicz, representing an altogether different level of status, has accepted the gig. thank christ.

we're co-hosting the thing with UP for Victory and MoveOn Student Action (check out their neat-o "feel a draft?" campaign).

what am i doing? helping to drum up media interest for the screening and for our campaign, while attempting to map out some kind of comm strategy for this last leg. i have five tiny minutes to acquaint myself with regional media. who'd have thought i'd be pitching to the likes of cbs and nbc affiliates? wasn't it just yesterday that i was on the phone with aptn?