A group of Champaign-Urbana residents protested what they called a conservative bias on WICD-TV in front of the station’s Champaign studios on Saturday.

Champaign resident Jean Stoia said she organized the protest in response to a decision from WICD’s owner, Sinclair Broadcasting Group, to air a documentary attacking Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.

Stoia said the group was also protesting a segment called “The Point” that Sinclair shows at the end of its stations’ local news broadcasts. She said protesters thought the segment’s host, Sinclair employee Mark Hyman, has a conservative bias.

About 70 protesters met at West Side Park, then marched to a street corner near the WICD studios. Their chants of “Sinclair unfair” drew a mixture of cheering and heckling from passing cars.

The group then marched back to the WICD studios to deliver a pair of petitions signed by the group asking the station to stop showing “The Point” and give airtime to Democrats to rebut the documentary.

The station did not accept the petitions. Stoia said she was told no manager was available to receive them because the protesters did not arrive during normal working hours.

Stoia said Sinclair originally planned to air Stolen Honor: Wounds that Never Heal, which attacks John Kerry’s war record, but instead decided to show A P.O.W. Story: Politics, Pressure and the Media, a program featuring clips of Stolen Honor.

Stoia said the group was not protesting A P.O.W. Story, which she called fair and balanced, but the original plan to air Stolen Honor. She said Sinclair, in choosing not to show Stolen Honor, gave in to pressure from groups like hers.

“It’s clear that left to their own devices, Sinclair will hijack the airwaves,” Stoia said. “But clearly protests like this are effective.”

A news crew from WICD filmed the protest, but refused to comment on the event.

Stoia said she and several of the other protesters planned to schedule a meeting with management during the week to deliver the petitions. They will also mail copies of them to the station, she said.

The group was comprised mostly of adults, but a few students were present. Sarah Lazare, junior in LAS, came to the protest from another march at the Champaign Police Station.

“I was at the Unity March today and wanted to come to (the protest) because the same government manipulates both the police and the media,” Lazare said. “In the very immediate sense, (the protest) accomplished forming a coalition and I hope it will … help long-term to disrupt the consolidation of the media.”

Stoia said the group made an effort to make the event non-partisan. Jerome Chambers, a local pastor from Champaign, said he came to the event despite his political leanings.

“I’ve always been conservative, but right now I think this group feels they can dominate our airwaves,” Chambers said. “If this is a democracy, we must hear from both sides … I’m concerned that the media has, for some reason, decided that the public’s trust can be compromised.”

Management from WICD was unavailable for comment, but have said in the past that they only do as their owners tell them.

Police were informed of the protest beforehand and were at the site, but did not become involved in the event. The protest dispersed peacefully after about two hours.