From today’s Post:

Sinclair Broadcast Group of Maryland, owner of the largest chain of television stations in the nation, plans to preempt regular programming two weeks before the Nov. 2 election to air a documentary that accuses Sen. John F. Kerry of betraying American prisoners during the Vietnam War.

Sinclair has ordered its 62 stations, some of which are in the critical swing states of Ohio, Florida, Iowa and Wisconsin, to air “Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal” during prime-time hours next week. The Sinclair station group collectively reaches 24 percent of U.S. television households.

Ordered is the key term here, but I also hear that the time is being offered for free. Hundt, FCC Chairman, has apparently sent a letter of inquiry, asking SB what the hell’s going on, given the licensure of american air waves by the Feds.

The old cliche of the liberal media, always a political mouse without a tail, has always been a “clingphrase” for people who wonder why “politics exists” but over the years it seems that the repetition of the idea and other influences have manifested in a climate of faux fairness and false evenhandedness in media. (The idea of a “campaign issue” falls into this category too: Iraq isn’t a “campaign issue,” it’s a matter of real life, even for media managers. “Campaign issue” suggests an issue only important to campaign coverage, thus a manipulation of context, a false context). Over the last couple of years I’ve seen crap that makes me wonder: what the hell will they think of next?

Nobody knows what this move means, but I sense that it’s just what it smells like: shit.