corporate privilege

While I will never again trust the All Barack Channel concerning the news, objective reporting, or really anything relying on or requiring honesty, this news does not really surprise me, and, in fact, I am relatively ok with it:

ABC is refusing to air paid ads during its White House health care presentation, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned, including a paid-for alternative viewpoint!

While ABC can no longer be viewed as an objective, dispassionate, and unbiased news source, they are still a private company (for the time). One of the services they provide as a private company is time for advertisements, and as with all private companies, they can (and probably do) reserve the right to refuse service to whomever they so desire, for whatever reason they so desire.
Is ABC proving to the world that they can no longer be trusted to honestly report the news by voluntarily televising an informercial for our Glorious President’s health care plan without any dissenting opinion allowed, and speciously calling it “news”? Absolutely. Are they digging their hole deeper with this commercial dust-up? In the court of public opinion, probably, but given that they are exercising their right as a private company, I am going to have to go with “no”.
Now, the only question becomes, “How much longer will they be a private company?”