Soldier tribute in line of fire

The “Nightline” roll call tribute to U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq won’t be seen tonight in several cities because station owner Sinclair Broadcast Group called the broadcast “motivated by a political agenda designed to undermine the efforts of the United States in Iraq.”

Maryland-based Sinclair, which owns seven ABC stations in cities including St. Louis and Columbus, Ohio, and pursues what some critics have called a conservative agenda in its newscasts, said its stations wouldn’t air the 40-minute program.

“While the Sinclair Broadcast Group honors the memory of the brave members of the military who have sacrificed their lives in the service of our country, we do not believe such political statements should be disguised as news content,” Sinclair said in a statement. Sinclair owns or operates 62 stations reaching nearly one-fourth of all U.S. TV viewers, including KOVR, the CBS affiliate in Sacramento, and two Las Vegas stations, KVWB and KFBT.

ABC said in a statement that “we respectfully disagree” with the decision, calling the program not a political statement but “an expression of respect which simply seeks to honor those who have laid down their lives for this country.”

Political feuding over the broadcast started almost immediately after ABC on Tuesday announced plans to read the names and show the pictures of the more than 500 U.S. service people killed in Iraq hostilities. The program was later expanded to 40 minutes so that host Ted Koppel can include more than 200 soldiers who died from non-combat situations.

WTXL in Tallahassee, Fla., received dozens of protest phone calls from across the country Thursday, after news reports erroneously said the station, which is managed by Sinclair but not owned by it, wouldn’t air “Nightline.” “The Internet is a dangerous thing,” Mike Plummer, the station manager, said, noting that in fact his station did plan to air the show. “I would say 100% [of the callers] have been rather upset at the idea that it would not be carried” on WTXL, he said.

Veterans on Thursday expressed mixed views. “It’s a shame that this is America and we can’t watch what we want to on American airways,” Ray Stallings, a Vietnam War vet who lives in Tallahassee, said (speaking before WTXL clarified its plans), noting that he was worried about a friend who is fighting in Baghdad.

“It’s a shame that we can’t see what’s being broadcast and what the real truth is of what is happening over there. I don’t think it’s unpatriotic at all. To me, it’s very moving. It would be beautiful to see the people who gave their life for the causes and freedom of America.”

But Miles Epling, state adjutant for the American Legion in Charleston, W.Va., said that he had not heard anything about the “Nightline” broadcast but would not be inclined to watch it. A Vietnam veteran, Epling said he has himself kept track of all the soldiers who have died in the line of duty during the war.

“I don’t think it says anything against the country to do a show like that, but I don’t really understand the purpose of why they’re doing it,” Epling said. “The people who died were very patriotic. They served their country and I’m proud of everyone in the service. But I feel sorry for their families. They already went through the process of a funeral. They don’t need to see this again.”

John Tepper, a member of the American Legion Columbus Post and a Vietnam War veteran, said he would not watch the program even if it were aired in his city. “I’m not comfortable with the way they are honoring them by reading the names off,” Tepper said. “After Sept. 11, after they had the ceremony and all was said and done, that was fine and dandy. But while the war is going on, and these kids are still over there in a war zone, it’s not the right time. For the families, it’s just going to bring up bad memories. This is not the time to do something like this.”

Sinclair Broadcast Group -- which in February sent a reporter and one of its top officials to Iraq to report a series of “good news” stories to counter what company officials said was the negative focus of other media -- had been anticipating some criticism of its decision. Sinclair executives didn’t return calls. In a statement, the broadcaster said: “We understand that our decision in this matter may be questioned by some. Before you judge our decision, however, we would ask that you first question Mr. Koppel as to why he chose to read the names of 523 troops killed in combat in Iraq, rather than the names of the thousands of private citizens killed in terrorist attacks since and including the events of Sept. 11, 2001. In his answer, we believe you will find the real motivation behind his action scheduled for this Friday.”

ABC countered that: “Contrary to the statement issued by Sinclair, which takes issue with our level of coverage of the effects of terrorism on our citizens, ABC News and all of our broadcasts, including ‘Nightline,’ have reported hundreds of stories on 9/11. Indeed, on the first anniversary of 9/11, ABC News broadcast the names of the victims of that horrific attack. In sum, we are particularly proud of the journalism and award-winning coverage ABC News has produced since Sept. 11, 2001.”

Alex Jones, director of Harvard University’s Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy, criticized Sinclair Broadcast Group’s decision, noting, “I don’t really understand what they are afraid of. Are they afraid that Americans will abandon the war because they see the faces?

“I don’t really understand the charge that it is political to publish the faces of these people,” Jones said. “It seems to me that it is vastly more political and deeply cynical to object to their having attention drawn to them. I would be very surprised if any of their families objected.”

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Times staff writer Maria Elena Fernandez in Los Angeles contributed to this report.