Here are some recent developments arising from Sinclair Broadcast Group's decision to order its 62 stations -- including WPGH 53 and WCWB 22 in Pittsburgh -- to air the John Kerry-bashing film "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal" two weeks before the election.

Local air dates: The film will air in Pittsburgh at 9 p.m. on Oct. 21 on WCWB, Channel 22, and at 8 p.m. Oct. 22 on WPGH, Channel 53.

Boycott efforts: Liberal Web sites such as stopsinclair.org, boycottsinclair.blogspot.com, boycottsinclairbroadcasting.com and dKosopedia.com have posted exhortations, links, phone numbers and e-mail addresses for more than 200 Sinclair advertisers. The sites also offer sample letters and a state-by-state breakdown of all Sinclair affiliates.

Boycott response: As of yesterday no advertisers had announced withdrawal of their ads from Sinclair. Sylvan Learning Center, which, like Sinclair, is based in Maryland, said in a statement that its advertising strategy "is in no way supportive of any political party of agenda."

At Cadbury Schweppes, makers of 7UP -- the first product on the posted list of advertisers -- a beleaguered-sounding operator said she'd received "hundreds and hundreds" of calls about the boycott. Operators at Colgate-Palmolive and General Mills said they had been fielding numerous complaints, but the companies did not return calls seeking comment.

In Pittsburgh, WPGH station manager Alan Frank also did not respond to a request to comment on the boycott, but the receptionist, who identified herself only as Fran, said the phone had been ringing quite a bit on the subject. "A lot of them are repeat callers," she said. "I recognize their voices, and they say the same things, like they're reading off a script."

The FCC: Yesterday, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission said the agency won't intervene to stop the broadcast despite claims by Democrats and watchdog groups that it is essentially a piece of anti-Kerry propaganda. Powell acknowledged Democrats' requests for an investigation, but said no federal rules allow the agency to prevent the program. "I think that would be an absolute disservice to the First Amendment and I think it would be unconstitutional if we attempted to do so," he said.

Another FCC voice: Commissioner Michael J. Copps, a Democrat, called Sinclair's action "an abuse of the public trust," and "proof of media consolidation run amok when one owner can use the public airwaves to blanket the country with its political ideology -- whether liberal or conservative."