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Wednesday, April 28, 2004

Nightline's Abuse of American War Dead

Washington Post
TV Column by Lisa de Moraes
ABC News's "Nightline" will devote its entire broadcast on Friday to reading the names of the more than 500 U.S. servicemen and servicewomen who have been killed in action in Iraq...

...a cheap, content-free stunt designed to tug at our heartstrings and bag a big number on the second night of the May ratings race.

Koppel, also in the announcement, acknowledged that Memorial Day might have been "the most logical occasion" to do the program. Ya think?

"But we felt that the impact would actually be greater on a day when the entire nation is not focused on war dead," he said.

Ah yes, and, of course, Memorial Day falls outside the May sweeps, when viewer levels are used by the networks to set advertising rates. Memorial Day is also traditionally a day of very low television viewing...

... nobody at ABC News stopped to think that telecasting this thing on the second night of the May sweeps might appear like an unseemly sweeps ratings grab.

Who'd have thought that the only people in broadcast TV with no awareness of ratings sweeps periods all work at ABC News? I mean, what are the odds, really?

"Honestly, we did not know that's when the sweeps begins," Sievers told The TV Column. "We don't pay a lot of attention to that."...
It is pure coincidence that this show will air during "sweeps week". Yeah, right..and I've got a bridge to sell.

It is rather disgusting that Koppel and Nightline would use dead American servicemen to sell more expensive TV commercials.

Revolting.

UPDATE: I sent the following email to Nightline. I encourage everyone to email Nightline and let them know about this outrage.

Mr. Koppel,

I am a life-long Democrat and US Navy veteran.

About the episode that will have a rollcall of Iraq war fallen:

It is pure coincidence that this show will air during "sweeps week"? Yeah, right..and I've got a bridge to sell.

ABC could have run the show at an appropriate time, such as the week before Memorial Day.

Instead you chose to run this show during sweeps in order that the increased viewership will help your ratings and thus raise the amount of money you can charge for commercials.

Mr. Sievers knows he is doing something immoral, so that is why he lied about it.

It is rather disgusting that Mr. Koppel and Nightline would use dead American servicemen to sell more expensive TV commercials.

Revolting.


ORIGINAL ITEM: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Posted by: Zayphar / 4/28/2004 06:58:00 PM
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