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SecularMotion

(7,981 posts)
Sat May 13, 2017, 02:20 AM May 2017

Sinclair Requires TV Stations to Air Segments That Tilt to the Right

They are called “must-runs,” and they arrive every day at television stations owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group — short video segments that are centrally produced by the company. Station managers around the country are directed to work them into the broadcast over a period of 24 or 48 hours.

Since November 2015, Sinclair has ordered its stations to run a daily segment from a “Terrorism Alert Desk” with updates on terrorism-related news around the world. During the election campaign last year, it sent out a package that suggested in part that voters should not support Hillary Clinton because the Democratic Party was historically pro-slavery. More recently, Sinclair asked stations to run a short segment in which Scott Livingston, the company’s vice president for news, accused the national news media of publishing “fake news stories.”

As Sinclair prepares to expand its stable of local TV stations with a proposed acquisition of Tribune Media — which would add 42 stations to Sinclair’s 173 — advocacy groups have shown concern about the size and reach the combined company would have. Its stations would reach more than 70 percent of the nation’s households, including many of the largest markets.

Critics of the deal also cite Sinclair’s willingness to use its stations to advance a mostly right-leaning agenda. That practice has stirred wariness among some of its journalists concerned about intrusive direction from headquarters.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/12/business/media/sinclair-broadcast-komo-conservative-media.html
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Sinclair Requires TV Stations to Air Segments That Tilt to the Right (Original Post) SecularMotion May 2017 OP
I saw one of these after the local news one night, freaked me right out! Rhiannon12866 May 2017 #1
Sinclair station in my area. Mostly network and reruns, but does pop in video editorials. Midnight Writer May 2017 #2
Sinclair Broadcast Group has IMO too many stations in my area. mwooldri May 2017 #3

Rhiannon12866

(202,970 posts)
1. I saw one of these after the local news one night, freaked me right out!
Sat May 13, 2017, 02:54 AM
May 2017

I was horrified to discover that the local CBS affiliate (Albany, NY) is a Sinclair station! I only tuned in after the local news to watch Stephen Colbert...

Midnight Writer

(21,546 posts)
2. Sinclair station in my area. Mostly network and reruns, but does pop in video editorials.
Sat May 13, 2017, 03:04 AM
May 2017

These pieces are very "conservative". .

mwooldri

(10,291 posts)
3. Sinclair Broadcast Group has IMO too many stations in my area.
Sat May 13, 2017, 11:38 AM
May 2017

With their purchase of Tribune's stations plus the 600 Mhz auction repacking the TV frequencies and removing channels 38-51... they end up with 3 out of the 6 full-power commercial licenses in the market.

Neither Sinclair not Tribune are losing stations via the reverse auction. Nearly all TV stations will receive a new channel assignment.

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