Liberal groups take on Sinclair

NEW YORK, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- A coalition of liberal political groups launched a campaign Tuesday accusing the Sinclair Broadcast Group of misusing public airwaves for politics.

The collection of groups, led by Media Matters for America, plans to urge supporters to write letters to companies that advertise on Sinclair's 62 TV stations -- but is not planning so far to call for a boycott of advertisers, The Los Angeles Times reported.

In addition to Media Matters for America, the coalition includes MoveOn.org, Campaign for America's Future, Alternet and MediaChannel.

Also a member of the coalition is filmmaker Robert Greenwald. He produced the documentary "Outfoxed," which argued the Fox News Channel is biased in favor of the Republican Party.

The campaign is targeting the Maryland-based Sinclair Broadcast Group through a new Web site -- SinclairAction.com. Its main target is "The Point" -- a nightly commentary by Sinclair corporate spokesman Mark Hyman that runs on a majority of the company's stations.

Hyman routinely accuses the media of having a liberal bias, while using his commentary to express support for Bush administration policies, the Times said.