"These people have paid the ultimate price in our name," said "Nightline" executive producer Leroy Sievers, "and it's important to remember them, whether you think the price is worth it or not.
"It may not be great television. But it's the right thing to do, and that's why we're doing it."
Sounds simple enough. But with the war in Iraq much in dispute during a highly charged election year, nothing is accepted at face value. So some observers think there's more here than meets the eye.
Sinclair Broadcast Group, a Maryland-based media company whose holdings include 62 TV stations, announced yesterday that it would pre-empt "Nightline" on its eight ABC affiliates, including stations in Columbus, Ohio; St. Louis, Mo.; and Tallahassee, Fla. The company said tonight's program "appears to be motivated by a political agenda designed to undermine the efforts of the United States in Iraq."
The company called the broadcast a political statement "disguised as news content," pointing to the producers' omission of "the names of thousands of private citizens killed in terrorist attacks" since Sept. 11, 2001.
In its own statement, ABC said its news division had reported "hundreds of stories on 9/11" while noting that, on the first anniversary of that tragedy, it aired the victims' names.
Tonight's "Nightline" broadcast "simply seeks to honor those who have laid down their lives for this country," ABC said.
"I think it's intellectually dishonest to deny the partisan nature of this broadcast," said Brent Bozell, president of the Media Research Center. "Of course, it's partisan! What's the purpose? There's only one goal in mind: It's to turn public opinion against the war."
"I think it's probably fair to say that `Nightline' is against this war in Iraq," political pundit Fred Barnes agreed.
"Koppel is drawing from a Vietnam analogy," added Barnes on Fox News Channel. "The country in 1969 was turning against the Vietnam War."
