The corporate media behemoth Sinclair Broadcast Group is about to learn a lesson of the marketplace faster than you can say Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

Sinclair is, of course, the now infamous owner of 62 television stations, that has ordered its stations to preempt their regular prime time program schedule next week to air a virulently anti-Kerry film titled “Stolen Honor.” Sinclair claims the film is legitimate “news,” but critics and independent journalism experts say that it not only flunks the smell test by any reasonable standard, but that it has been widely available on DVD for some time, and in no way qualifies as “news.” (Ever seen a segment of 60 Minutes available on DVD in advance of its broadcast?)

Anyway, the company directive, unprecedented in the history of television news, has provoked so much outrage that the company’s stock price is falling and an organized boycott of it’s advertisers is underway. News accounts and activity on blog sites suggests that the rolling disaster the company has brought upon itself is gathering speed.

Salon.com reports: “Sinclair’s stock, which is already underperforming, dragged down by the weight of the company’s enormous debt, a consequence of mismanagement at the top, drooped even more following the “Stolen Honor” announcement. And that comes on the heels of the stock hitting its 52-week low in late September. (Sinclair trades for roughly $7. In 1995 the stock traded for $45, and that was before the late ’90s stock market surge.)”

Salon also reported that it was unable to get through to Sinclair for comment because the company’s phone line was jammed.

Numerous efforts to persuade Sinclair not to air the anti-Kerry hit piece are now under way. For example, the organization Media Matters, suggests that people who have investments in mutual funds or pension funds that in turn own stock in Sinclair, let the funds know of their views. And at the Boycott Sinclair Broadcast Group site, one can find the contact information for many of the companies that advertise on Sinclair owned stations.

This almost instant and escalating effort may be unprecedented in American history for having been so rapidly, powerfully, and decentrally organized. I have already read reports that a law firm in Flint, Michigan, and a furniture store in Minneapolis have dropped their advertising on the Sinclair owned stations. A blogger on the The Daily Kos reports that Sylvan Learning Centers has also yanked thier ads.[UPDATE: the boycott group now reports 40 companies have pulled thier ads. A comprehensive source for information about the Sinclair situation can be found on The Daily Kos, including the names of a number of companies that have pulled out, and some of those that have refused.]

One dimension of the sleazy attack video is the political pedigree of the film’s producer, Carlton Sherwood, who previously wrote a book about Korean cult leader, Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the purpose of which, according to documents obtained by PBS’ Frontline, was to “silence critics.”

Even if Sinclair caves and agrees not to run the film, or agrees to air a positive portrayal of Kerry as well, (which has been offered by a film maker), the campaign against the company has already added strength to an existing effort by the Northampton, Massachusetts-based media reform organization Free Press to address the company’s long record of abuses of the public airwaves. The group is is organizing challenges to the broadcast licenses of a number of Sinclair owned stations.

The Free Press also appears to be the best one stop shop for finding the various anti-Sinclair campaigns.

What we are seeing may be a case study in rapid corporate self-destruction that will fascinate business school students for years to come.