Kerry Requests Equal TV Time

NEW YORK — The campaign of Sen. John F. Kerry on Friday formally asked Sinclair Broadcast Group for equal time on all its stations to counter what the campaign said was Sinclair's plan to air an extended attack ad during prime viewing hours next week.

In a Friday letter to Sinclair, Kerry campaign attorney Mark E. Elias argued that Sinclair's plans to air "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal," a film in which former Vietnam POWs criticize the Senator's Vietnam War protests, was "clearly intended to advance the campaign of President Bush by attacking Sen. Kerry's record."

Citing Federal Communications Commission doctrine and court rulings, Elias requested equal time on each of Sinclair's 62 stations that airs the film, and asked that the time be when an equivalent number of viewers would be watching.

Sinclair had invited Kerry on its program to discuss the film's charges. Kerry spokesman Chad Clanton said Kerry had no plans to go on the show. Sinclair didn't return calls for comment, and Clanton said the campaign had not received a response from Sinclair to its letter.