After protests, a local NBC affiliate in eastern Iowa will now allow an ad produced by a conservative super PAC to run on its airwaves, The Daily Caller has learned.
TheDC reported Monday that KWWL-TV was refusing to air the Conservative War Chest super PAC’s ad going after Iowa Democratic Senate candidate Bruce Braley.
By Tuesday, Mike Flynn, a spokesman for Conservative War Chest, said managers at KWWL-TV had reversed their decision. “This morning the station contacted me to say they have now decided to air our original ad,” Flynn said.
Earlier, KWWL-TV explained its decision to TheDC by saying: “In the judgment of station management, the ad did not meet our criteria to allow it to air.” John Huff, the general sales manager at KWWL-TV, didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment Tuesday.
The ad compares Braley, the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate, to “extremist” liberals like Harry Reid and Hillary Clinton. The fast-paced ad references a variety of issues while flashing photos of prominent liberals.
Flynn said that before the station reversed course, the group was in the process of buying ad time on KWWL to tell viewers the station had “censored” them.
“Not long before the station contacted me, our media buyer had submitted a new ad to the station, informing viewers of KWWL’s decision and directing them to our website to view the ad,” Flynn said. “According to our buyer, the station’s reversal came shortly after that ad.”
Flynn also speculated that the station changed its mind because of the attention KWWL’s decision was given by news outlets.
“It’s a new media success story,” Flynn said. “The legacy media can no longer choose what viewers see. Through new outlets like The Daily Caller and others, the news gets out.”
WATCH THE AD THE GROUP THREATENED TO RUN: