Sinclair has used its 173 television stations to advance a mostly right-leaning agenda since the presidency of George W. Bush, according to The New York Times. [158][159][160], Sinclair often mandates its stations to air specific reports, segments, programs and editorials, referred to as "must-runs"; the full-length programs airing on the weekend include Armstrong Williams's weekly talk show, and Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson. For the year ended December 31, 2022, our newsrooms won a total of 290 Here, theres little doubt that anyone on staff that contributes to the corporate PAC, their money will not only be used to promote Sinclairs policy preferences around broadcasting laws, but general conservative political causes and candidates.. Our research analyzes local news broadcasts across the country, comparing Sinclair-owned stations' coverage patterns to those of other stations in the same market and, when Sinclair acquires . Sinclair is expected to enter into LMA's to operate WPIX and WGN-TV, while selling off KSWB outright. [96] On April 21, 2017, following the reinstatement of the "UHF discount" (a policy that counts television stations broadcasting on UHF channels by 50% of their total audience towards the FCC's 39% market cap), Sinclair announced its intent to purchase Bonten Media Group for $240 million. Funding. [187] Stelter states that the script is written to sound like it's the opinion of the local anchors, despite the text being in fact a mandate from corporate management. [163], In May 2017, in response to Sinclair's announced intent to acquire Tribune Media, Craig Aaron, president/CEO of media advocacy group Free Press, accused Sinclair of currying favor with the Trump administration through the interview arrangement with Trump, the group's February hiring of former Trump campaign aide Boris Epshteyn as a political analyst, and executive chair David Smith's meetings with then-FCC commissioner Ajit Pai prior to his appointment as the agency's chair in exchange for deregulating media ownership rules to allow the company to expand its broadcasting portfolio. It also owns about 20 regional sports cable networks, a handful of . (A) But were concerned about the troubling trend of irresponsible, one-sided news stories plaguing our country. (d)Marquee was launched in late February 2020, therefore is a driver of the All [89] Sinclair's news operations had launched six drone teams in September 2016. 720/7. In 1994, Sinclair signed a deal with Paramount and its UPN network, bringing five affiliates WPTT-TV in Pittsburgh, WNUV-TV in Baltimore, WCGV-TV in Milwaukee, WSTR-TV in Cincinnati and KSMO-TV in Kansas City to the network. [The New York Times, 5/3/17]. [39] The non-license assets of ABC affiliate WHAM-TV in Rochester, New York, were sold by Newport to Sinclair, with Deerfield purchasing the station's license. [4], A 2019 study in the American Political Science Review found that "stations bought by Sinclair reduce coverage of local politics, increase national coverage and move the ideological tone of coverage in a conservative direction relative to other stations operating in the same market. [41][44] Two Barrington stations, along with the lease for a third, were initially set to be transferred to Cunningham Broadcasting,[43] but were ultimately sold to an affiliate of Northwest Broadcasting owner Brian Brady. Dielectric is a designer and manufacturer of broadcast systems including all components from transmitteroutput to antenna. The company had originally planned to air the documentary in full, The Times reported, but pressure from advertisers and shareholders led it to run only excerpts during a program on the election. [182], A December 22, 2016 Washington Post review of Sinclair's internal documents, as well as reviews of the newscasts and public affairs programming on the company's stations, revealed that more broadcast time was given to favorable or neutral coverage of Trump's campaign than to other candidates in the primary and general election campaigns of 2016. spectrum for a wide variety of services including multi-channel broadcasts. Washington, We believe Sinclair Broadcast Groups people are our most important asset. [40], Cox Media Group sold five television stations, their smallest by media market rankings, to Sinclair on February 25, 2013, with Deerfield Media assuming ownership of Cox-operated KAME-TV in Reno. [218] On December 31, Mediacom and Sinclair agreed to an eight-day extension of the retransmission agreement that permitted Sinclair's stations to remain on Mediacom until January 8. Saying that Mr. Obamas supporters had sent 93,000 e-mails to the Sinclair broadcasting company for carrying the advertisement, Tommy, a campaign spokesman, said, Other stations that follow Sinclairs lead should expect a similar response from people who dont want the political discourse cheapened with these false, negative attacks. [The New York Times, 8/27/08], Sinclair Gave Conservative Conspiracy Theorist Sharyl Attkisson Her Own Show. The sharing of biased and false news has become all too common on social media. This article explains the Sinclair Broadcasting piece of the puzzle. approximate percentages of advertising revenue, excluding digital revenue, for These stories have generally been critical of the Obama administration and tend to offer perspectives primarily from conservative think tanks. "[195] The statement cited a Monmouth University poll that found large majorities of Americans believe that traditional news media outlets report fake news. [188] At least 66 Sinclair-owned stations produced their own version of the message, with the first being aired on March 23, 2018. Our commitment to factual reporting is the foundation of our credibility, now more than ever. As legal as praying for a right wing victory. As a reminder, this subreddit is for civil discussion. [215] The impasse ended on February 2 when Mediacom announced that it had reached a retransmission agreement with Sinclair for undisclosed terms. In 1985, the Chesapeake Television Corporation changed its name to the Sinclair Broadcast Group. [217], In December 2009, Sinclair announced that it would pull all of its stations from Mediacom systems for the second time in three years if a new carriage agreement was not reached by midnight on December 31. changes between the periods due to a full year of activity being included in the TBD is the first multiscreen TV network to bring premium internet-first content to TV homes across America. [75] ASN was created as part of the company's foray into original, non-news content creation beyond Ring of Honor Wrestling and school sports. All 22 stations were restored to Mediacom systems shortly after the agreement was announced. BALTIMORE-- ( BUSINESS WIRE )--Sinclair Broadcast Group (Nasdaq: SBGI) today announced nearly $175,000 was raised through Sinclair Cares: Tornado Relief, a partnership with the American Red Cross . (A) But we are human and sometimes our reporting might fall short. Some sources in this category may be untrustworthy. NY Times: Sinclair Has Advanced A Mostly Right-Leaning Agenda Since George W. Bushs Presidency. [220], Sinclair was also involved with retransmission negotiations with Time Warner Cable at the same time as the Mediacom dispute in 2006 and 2007; however, in this case, the two sides reached an agreement on January 19, 2007. (a)Includes $24 million, $109 million, and $98 million for the years ended [152], At times, Sinclair has disciplined hosts who have stepped over the line regarding propriety; for example, its host Jamie Allman, from station KDNL in St. Louis, resigned and his show was canceled after he said that he was "getting ready to ram a hot poker up (Parkland student-turned-activist) David Hogg's ass. He also stated that Sinclair had made similar offers to the Hillary Clinton campaign (Clinton did not accept offers to do interviews with Sinclair, according to Livingston, though her running mate, Tim Kaine, did). The wording of the mandated script was criticized by some station news staff and outside pundits for its discussion of fake news, with some critics arguing that the message used similar language and rhetoric to that of Donald Trump. On Wednesday, eligible Sinclair Broadcast Group employees thought to be mostly executive types received an invitation to contribute to the companys political action committee. Sinclair Broadcast Group executives said they will bring resources and stability to KOMO TV and 19 other television stations they'll get by acquiring Seattle-based Fisher Communications. [122] On August 22, 2019, Sinclair completed the acquisition of FSN and thus FSN is now a wholly owned subsidiary and becoming sisters to Marquee. Executive Overview - a description of our business, summary of significant [190], The promos began to receive mainstream media attention after the sports blog Deadspin, as well as ThinkProgress, posted video compilations featuring all of the promos being played simultaneously. That's how Putin wins. That's how Putin wins. [90] In the mid-2010s, Sinclair launched Refined, an online local lifestyle web magazine run in conjunction with local Sinclair stations. More alarming, national media outlets are publishing these same fake stories without checking facts first. [62] This deal was complicated by multiple regulatory hurdles and a proposed barring of future joint sales agreements (JSA) by the FCC. Boss : hey you should donate to our SuperPAC. [166] All Sinclair stations were required to air Ephsteyn's commentary, Bottom Line with Boris nine times per week. poschodie. After failing to respond to Mediacom's offer to take the dispute to binding arbitration before the deadline, Sinclair pulled all 22 stations from Mediacom's lineups shortly after midnight on January 6. Country: USA (44/180 Press Freedom) Tribune Media CEO Peter Kern stated that the sale "cannot be completed in an acceptable timeframe, if ever"; the suit cited Sinclair's "belligerent and unnecessarily protracted negations" with the Department of Justice and FCC over regulatory negotiations in order to maintain control of stations that it was advised to divest, as well as violations of the sale agreement requiring divestitures of stations to not result in any threats of regulatory scrutiny. National Headliner Awards, including top honors in the Public Service and [236], DirecTV's retransmission agreement with Sinclair was slated to expire on February 28, 2013. Note 9. They're pretty much the reason the right is the way it is. SINCLAIR BROADCAST GROUP INC MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL Drive Auto is the automotive marketing division of Sinclair, offering advertising tools, technology, and expert marketing guidance for auto dealers of all sizes. which gives top Distributors purchasing power. In addition, Sinclair offered no stories about Clintons views about 9/11, about what role Chelsea Clinton might play in her mothers administration or about Bill Clintons campaign role. Politico later reported that Sinclairs vice president and director had donated to Gianforte the day after he was charged with assault. Before the 2004 presidential election, Sinclair drew sharp criticism, including from Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, for its refusal to broadcast an episode of Nightline devoted to reciting the names of every member of the military killed in action in Iraq. And while most users found no faults with the story, they did notice that the accompanying photo that of civil rights activist DeRay Mckesson was not at all an accurate representation of the facts. We also rate them Mixed for factual reporting due to airing news shows with poor fact check records. [172][173][146] ABC stated that the segment was meant to be "an expression of respect which seeks to honor those who have laid down their lives for this country. Analysis / Bias Sinclair has been scrutinized by multiple media outlets for consistently favoring conservative politics. "[153], Sinclair has faced scrutiny from some media critics, as well as some of its station employees, for the conservative slant of their stations' news reporting and other programming decisions, and how the company's rapid growth has aided the airing of content that supports these views. 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