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Old January 19th 04, 04:19 AM
Peter Gottlieb
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Very good.

"Geoffrey Barnes" wrote in message
nk.net...
Okay, let's pick on Bayer. You can write, phone, or do an online email
at this url: http://www.bayeraspirin.com/contactus.php


What's sad is that while everybody was up in arms about writing to CBS

when
the story ran, there seems to be so little response to this thread. As

bad
as CBS was on this one, it was their advertisers who supported and funded
the report that ****ed so many of us off.

In any event, here is my response to Bayer.. and I'm working my way down

the
list to hit the other advertisers as well.

On Wednesday, 14 January, your corporation advertised one of its products

on
the CBS Evening News. In that broadcast, CBS aired an inaccurate and

highly
misleading "Eye on America" story concerning the security and safety of

this
nation's general aviation airports. As the underwriters of this

broadcast,
I hold Bayer responsible for this astonishing lapse in journalistic
integrity. Your corporation is funding a broadcast which has knowingly

and
deliberately lied to its viewers, and you should be ashamed of yourselves
for supporting this program.

General aviation is a vibrant industry involving more than 600,000

licensed
pilots in the United States alone. Over 18,000 public-use airports dot

the
landscape of our country, and more than 145 million people fly in general
aviation aircraft every year. Well over 200,000 people owe their
livelihoods directly to this key component in our national transportation
infrastructure.

As important as general aviation may be, it remains an industry under
threat. A vocal minority -- due to malice, misconceptions, or their own
political agendas -- are determined close airports, impose costly and
unnecessary regulatory restrictions, and eliminate American's freedom to
take to the sky.

There is nothing wrong with a healthy debate on these topics. The report
aired on the CBS Evening News, however, was not journalism in any sense of
the term, and did
nothing to advance this debate. No contrary opinions were sought by the
reporter, and only one side of the story was presented. Instead of
informing it's viewers, CBS sought only to scare and frighten them.

This is not the sort of enterprise that a company such as Bayer should be
supporting. I hope you will reconsider your decision to advertise your
products on the CBS Evening News.