Well, looks like the Staples Affair just doesn't want to quit. David Brock posts a letter to Staples CEO Ron Sargent more or less accusing him of lying:
As you may know, Staples, Inc. officials reviewed, edited, and approved the Media Matters press release of January 4, 2005, in both draft and final form. That release stated that Staples was not renewing advertising on Sinclair local news programming due in part to concerns registered by visitors to the SinclairAction.com website, which was launched December 14, 2004, to protest the conservative slant of Sinclair's news programming, in particular a nightly conservative commentary called "The Point."
Visitors to the SinclairAction.com site who contacted Staples, Inc. received email replies from the company informing them that as of January 10, 2005, Staples, Inc. would no longer advertise on Sinclair local news programming.
Who to believe? Does Brock have proof of Staples vetting the press release? And if he does, why not post that, also? Was Staples reacting to pressure from MMA or was the company merely adjusting a media buy which Brock then sought to exploit?
Or was Staples' original decision in fact to drop Sinclair "based in part on the activism generated by SinclairAction.com" only to realize that they were now alienating a huge audience and lost nerve?
Amy Ridenour has more.
Stay tuned.
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