I was the one who originally posted last week that the way to Sinclair was through its advertisers on its local newscast.  I don't know about nationally, but from our market, it's clear that that strategy isn't going to work.  This show is going to air, that's a given.

But there IS a way to cause serious discomfort on these guys.   My house is a Neilsen house.  Every 2 years or so, we have to keep a Neilsen diary of what we watch.  Now, here's what happens.  If there was a national call to the anonymous Neilsen houses, like mine to refuse to ever acknowledge in their Neilsen diaries that they were watching a Sinclair station, think of the result - HINT, it may not be obvious.

We're not trying to get the ratings down, though that would be a nice extra.  We're trying to corrupt their ratings; the life blood of their company.  Once it has been established nationally that you've introduced an exterior random influence on the Neilsen ratings for just one network, then those ratings are suspect and essentially worthless, and they absolutely cannot use those ratings to set ad rates.   Hmmm, what do you think their stock would do at that point?   Keep following me....

This company is leveraged to the hilt.  If their stock tanks, it's like a margin call from their debtors.  There's this sense that these brothers are untouchable.  But that's not true.  The people who hold almost absolute power over these brothers, who can make them dance like little pigs, are the ones to whom they owe all the money.   (Having co-run a small business that was also deeply in debt, I can tell you that the phone calls from the bank (or the investor) are the ones you dread more than anything)

Whaddya think?

Look first of all, I'm not trying to send everyone off into Oliver Stone land, so I'd love a smackdown from a doctor or someone who actually works with stroke victims to tell me this theory is absurd, but...

I've worked doing medical documentaries for 14 years.   I've done several shows on stroke victims, and something kept bothering me about Bush last night.  Then I got a call this morning from another medical producer.  First thing he says is:  Bush has had a stroke.  And it hit me, that's exactly what I saw.  Check Bush's mouth, where the spittle was coming out.  It's slightly droopy.  If you go back and look at video from his earlier days, his mouth isn't drooping, that side of his face is far more animated.  It's very subtle but it's there.

Now if you look at video from the FIRST debate, there is no droop.  The right side of his face is pretty animated.  Why?  The thing on his back.  Listen, I've put wireless mics and wireless IFBs (2 way transceivers) on talent for years.  They're the size of credit cards now.  That wasn't a transceiver on Bush's back.  It was some kind of medical device.  He wasn't wearing it last night, and that's why he was forcing himself to stand with such a rigid expression.  The best he could muster.  

Why would he have lost so much of his verbal capacity in the last 4 years?

Think about the choking episode a few years ago.  Who witnessed it?  That's all we got.

Whddya think?

First, thanks to dKos reader, tmo, for the suggestion of that title.

Expanding on my post about Sinclair's advertisers.  I work in tv in a medium sized market.  We have 2 Sinclair stations here.  I worked for 7 years for one of Sinclair's competitors producing local tv advertising.  I worked everyday with the sales manager, and I got to know a LOT about how local tv stations generate ad revenue.

As I posted, over 60% of a local stations ad revenue is generated by their nightly 5pm/6pm news broadcast.  That hour is the sacred cow of every local station.  And the big advertisers on the 5pm/6pm broadcast are the angels, the most revered and sucked-up to group of people that the station does business with.  Trust me, I know, if one of those advertisers is unhappy, it gets fixed.... FAST.  

That's the pressure point, the local advertisers, usually car dealers are high on the list.  But you also need to find out, and this is trickier, who the media buyers are for that market.  A media buyer (just for those who don't know) is a business, sometimes part of an ad agency, who buys media on local tv stations.  Every political campaign has their own media buyer.  One media buyer might represent several advertisers.  And those people are very low profile, the LAST thing they want is to be caught in the crossfire.  So what should we do?.... Fire away!  

heynewt