The Washington bureau chief of Sinclair Broadcast Group was fired yesterday after accusing the media company of “indefensible” conduct for planning to air a movie attacking Sen. John Kerry’s Vietnam record in the coming days.
Jon Leiberman, who also was the lead political reporter for the 62-station television chain, told CNN last night that he was terminated for his criticism, which was quoted in yesterday’s Baltimore Sun. He spoke out, he said, because “I feel so strongly that our credibility is at issue here…. I feel our company is trying to sway this election.”
The Baltimore-based firm, which has drawn harsh criticism from Kerry and the Democrats, found itself explaining why it dismissed a top journalist for speaking to the media.
Sinclair Vice President Mark Hyman said in a statement: “Everyone is entitled to their personal opinion, including Jon Leiberman. We are disappointed that Jon’s political views caused him to speak to the press about company business.” The statement called him a “disgruntled employee.”
Is it me, or are the parallels to the Bush administration surprisingly consistent? Bush has no tolerance for dissent; neither does Sinclair. Bush drives anyone who isn’t a “team player” from their jobs; Sinclair does the same thing. Once the critic has been driven from his or her job, Bush labels them “disgruntled”; as does Sinclair.
Of course, now Sinclair is without its only real political journalist for the entire company. I have a suggestion: Sinclair should hire Karen Ryan, who pretended to be a journalist for those absurd Bush administration videos. She obviously knows how to read a partisan script, and she doesn’t mind being a GOP hack. Sinclair should love her.