Deltanine

ABC's "Nightline" program on Friday broadcast the names and photographs of 721 American soldiers killed in Iraq, sparking outrage from conservatives who called it anti-war propaganda.

A media company whose executives have been strong supporters of President Bush, Maryland-based Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc., barred its ABC-affiliated stations from airing the "Nightline" broadcast, calling it a political statement that failed to give all sides of the story.

Sinclair company president David Smith responded that ABC "has adopted a strategy employed by numerous anti-war demonstrators who wish to focus attention solely on the cost of war." He said Sinclair stations would replace "Nightline" with "a balanced report addressing both sides of this controversy."