Sears, FedEx Pull TV Ads in Protest

Sears and FedEx pulled their commercials from ABC’s late-night show “Politically Incorrect” because host Bill Maher characterized recent U.S. military actions as “cowardly.”

“We have been the cowards lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away,” Maher said on the show Monday night. “That’s cowardly.”

Sears spokeswoman Lee Antonio said the company’s decision was made after reviewing transcripts: “They were having a discussion, as they’re free to do . . . but we decided it was not a place we wanted to be.” A FedEx spokeswoman confirmed the company’s decision but did not issue a statement.

In an apology released Wednesday afternoon, Maher said he never intended to give the impression that “the men and women who defend our nation in uniform are anything but courageous and valiant.”

With a nation still reeling from the attacks, Maher’s comment proved to be bad business for ABC. But large media buyers across the country, including those whose clients buy time on “Politically Incorrect,” said no other advertisers were pulling their spots off any show.

“It’s not business as usual, but advertisers need to be on the air,” said Mel Burning, who oversees U.S. media buying for MediaVest, one of the country’s largest buyers of network time. “There are new product launches. . . . They’re looking to get back on the air.”

ABC, owned by Disney, stood behind Maher in its statement. “While we remain sensitive to the current climate following last week’s tragedy and continue to do our part to help viewers cope with unfolding events, there needs to remain a forum for the expression of our nation’s diverse opinions.”

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Aaron Sorkin, creator of NBC’s “The West Wing,” has asked that the program’s season premiere, scheduled for Wednesday, be delayed in light of the attacks.

While declining official comment, network sources stressed that the request did not have to do with specific content concerns, but rather with a general sensitivity about reaction to the Emmy-winning drama, given its focus on political themes. The series is set in a fictional White House.

NBC and the other networks had already delayed their premieres one week from the original start date, which was Monday, but Sorkin would reportedly like “West Wing” held longer. The network has limited time to decide whether the show, one of its highest-rated series, will be postponed further.

Those responsible for the program have sought to keep a low profile since the crisis, shunning interview requests. A spokeswoman for Sorkin declined comment.

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CNN lost its bid to keep reporter Nic Robertson and his camera crew in Afghanistan when ruling Taliban officials insisted he leave for safety reasons.

Robertson, who had been CNN’s best hope to provide inside reports from the country in the event that it becomes a target of U.S. retaliation for last week’s attacks, was instead reporting Wednesday from Pakistan, where other networks also have personnel. Another CNN crew, led by Moscow correspondent Steve Harrigan, remains in rebel-held Afghan territory.

CNN said it has 60 people in the region ready to report on any developments.

The only Western print news organizations thought to have reporters in Afghanistan now are Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. Reuters and AFP have one Afghan national each reporting from Kabul, according to their editors in Islamabad.

Kelly Tunney, AP’s director of corporate communications, says her news service has more than one reporter in Afghanistan--and not all Afghans--though she declined “for security reasons” to say how many.

Many news organizations, including The Times, have been unsuccessfully seeking visas to enter Afghanistan.

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From Times staff writers Dana Calvo, Brian Lowry, Elizabeth Jensen and David Shaw.