Most sentient Americans who follow political news know that Fox “News” is a propaganda arm of the GOP. Fewer people are aware of Sinclair Broadcast Group, which–as Talking Poiints Memo recently reminded us–also pipes disinformation and right-wing partisan talking points through its network of “185 television stations in 86 markets affiliated with all the major broadcast networks.”
This month, Sinclair Broadcast Group has flooded a vast network of local news websites with misleading articles suggesting that President Biden is mentally unfit for office. The articles are based on specious social media posts by the Republican National Committee (RNC), which are then repackaged to resemble news reports. The thinly disguised political attacks are then syndicated to dozens of local news websites owned by Sinclair, where they are given the imprimatur of mainstream media brands, including NBC, ABC, and CBS.
Sounds bad, right? It’s quite a bit worse than that. As Judd points out, the kinds of material Sinclair has been pumping through it local stations are the most rancid of the attacks on Biden’s age and mental fitness. I’m talking about things like Biden “pooping” on stage during the D-Day commemoration, supposedly “freezing” during other public appearances (according to deceptively edited videos), and his slurring or stuttering of words.
This flood of disinformation is nonstop, it’s still often under the radar, and it’s saturating millions of American homes.
While Fox is widely recognized as a source of disinformation, Sinclair has thus far avoided becoming a household name and identifiably untrustworthy source of information. That’s because the company lacks branding; it owns stations that are affiliated with all three major broadcast networks. When someone tunes in to Sean Hannity, they do so knowing what they’ll get; the disinformation purveyed by Sinclair is far more insidious.
A couple of years ago, the company required its commentators–news anchors on a wide variety of platforms–to read a statement bashing so-called “fake news.” That particular ploy got a fair amount of notice due to the identical language on multiple stations, but much of Sinclair’s propaganda is less obvious.
As the Washington Post reported earlier this year,
Every year, local television news stations owned by Sinclair Broadcasting conduct short surveys among viewers to help guide the year’s coverage.
A key question in each poll, according to David Smith, the company’s executive chairman: “What are you most afraid of?”
The answers are evident in Sinclair’s programming. Crime, homelessness, illegal drug use, failing schools and other societal ills have long been core elements of local TV news coverage. But on Sinclair’s growing nationwide roster of stations, the editorial focus reflects Smith’s conservative views and plays on its audience’s fears that America’s cities are falling apart, according to media observers, Smith associates, and current and former staffers who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal company matters.
As the article points out, Sinclair offers its audience “a perspective that aligns with Trump’s oft-stated opinion that America’s cities, especially those run by Democratic politicians, are dangerous and dysfunctional.”
“Sinclair stations deliver messages that appeal to older, White, suburban audiences, and they play up crime stories in a way that is disproportionate to their statistical presence,” said Anne Nelson, a journalist and author of “Shadow Network: Media, Money and the Secret Hub of the Radical Right.” “All of it is fearmongering and feeds into a racialized view of cities.”
I have often wondered where friends from suburbia get these incredibly distorted pictures of urban life. At root, it is clearly influenced by the fact that cities–especially their downtowns–are where “those people” live. Apparently, propaganda purveyors like Fox and Sinclair (and their rapidly growing number of clones) understand the power of prejudice and intentionally encourage the racism that motivates a disproportionate percentage of Trump voters.
A Think article written not long after the scandal of the identical “opinion” pieces suggested that Sinclair is a “truer” heir to Roger Ailes than even Fox News.
This April, a reporter for a Sinclair-owned TV station revealed that she was fired for refusing to add conservative talking-points to a climate change story. This followed weeks of controversy, including revelations that the media giant had forced local news anchors to read identical scripts denouncing, in Trump-like fashion, “fake” news.
Sinclair Broadcasting Group, the largest owner of local television stations in America, is still not a household name like, for example, Fox News. Yet it may be the truest heir to former Fox News chairman and CEO Roger Ailes’s original vision of conservative news programming. Long before cable news, Ailes — who died in 2017 — had been dreaming up ways to inject local news programs with a conservative spin.
Here’s a list of the stations Sinclair owns.
And we wonder why Americans don’t know who or what to trust….
Growing up, I read The Daily Planet, and placed my trust in Clark Kent and Lois Lane until I found out Lex Luther was one of the owners. Then I transferred my trust to Mugs and Dave Garroway at NBC News when we were the first on the block to have a TV in the 50’s. My guess is we have always had to choose between what drives intelligent conversation or just meant to sell popcorn.
“Most sentient Americans who follow political news know that Fox “News” is a propaganda arm of the GOP.”
Per my Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary: sentient; 1 capable of feeling, 2 experiencing sensation or feeling. We are seeing, hearing, feeling and experiencing the result of the far, far right’s sentient view of Donald Trump and what he stands for touches something inside of them that we, as humanitarians, do not understand. Sentient is not solely a positive experience or feeling; this is something that Sinclair understands and is feeding to the far, far right and strengthening their support and their donations to Donald Trump and a future of Dictatorship in America to rival Putin’s in Russia and those who are at war to destroy democracy around the globe.
“And Don’t Forget Sinclair…” connects to yesterday’s “A Disturbing Analysis” and the appalling polling results of additional millions in donations as Trump and his minions get worse and get more media space. Has anyone added up the reported millions rushed in after Trump fiascos and convictions? It must be in the billions by now…if those numbers in Sinclair reporting are factual. If so; why are they not bragging about their billions in donations?
“And we wonder why Americans don’t know who or what to trust….” Those on the far, far right are wondering the same thing about us as Americans.
I have always lived in suburbia; but it wasn’t until 2016 I began wondering where my neighbors got their “incredibly disturbing pictures” of suburban life.
What on God’s green earth will be the results of the Thursday night “Presidential Debate”? How will CNN anchors control Trump’s mouth when his mic is open and will they be allowed to confront his lies and distortions? We will see it all live and in real time. Sinclair’s following reports will cover it in their usual “alternate fact” reporting.
The more I hear about Sinclair, the more disturbed I become. It becomes way too difficult for those whose absorption of “news” is occasional and sporadic, and if only Fox or Sinclair, faux. No wonder this election will be close; most aren’t aware of the outstanding accomplishments of Joe Biden.
Here’s a prediction for the upcoming debate: trump will continue to talk, loudly, bully and try to confuse and intimidate no matter what the moderators try to do to stop him. It’s his MO, and he will be unable to stop himself, nor would he want to. Joe will do his best to counter whatever trump does, and the bullying will be cause for victory celebrations for both the Dems and the MAGAs. A disgusting devolution of American politics.
Unless JoAnn lives in South Bend, she won’t be watching a Sinclair-controlled channel in Indiana. If you click through to check out their markets, all are in very red states except for small Mexican communities in Cali.
The US Govt has miserably failed the people over the years by allowing these companies to build monopolies nationwide. TV broadcasting is just one of many industries allowed to consolidate, and now we are experiencing lots of problems — algorithmic pricing platforms are allowed for price-gouging consumers, which the US Govt reports as inflation.
The media and information landscape is causing its demise. Very few people trust what they hear, read, and view. As we’ve discussed here, the media is often owned by oligarchs who appeal to specific markets. Fox and Sinclair target their markets very carefully, and so do the NY Times and WaPo. Toss in Gannett (now owned by the Japanese conglomerate Softbank), one of the worst rags in the US, and you see a dying industry.
We are not alone in receiving junk media and information. Murdoch influences the US, Australia, and the UK. The BBC is paid by UK citizens, and it has gotten so bad that people are protesting the tax dollars they spend going to the outlet. This is a global phenomenon, and when you toss in the censoring of opposition news and information, “let the buyer beware” takes on a new meaning.
And then there is the prosecution of Julian Assange for sharing the truth and the 500 journalists jailed globally for holding the government accountable. Add in all the journalists killed by Israel in Gaza, and you start to understand the big picture.
From The Guardian:
“The International Federation of Journalists has described Julian Assange’s release from prison as a “significant victory for media freedom.”
“The dropping of 17 of the 18 charges that he faced avoids the criminalisation of the normal journalistic practices of encouraging sources to confidentially share evidence of wrongdoing and criminality,” read an IFS statement reported by PA Media, which also offered a reminder that more than 500 journalists remain in prison around the world.
The federation’s president Dominique Pradalie said the development meant “victory for the right to inform and to be informed” and “victory for journalists around the world.”
Its general secretary Anthony Bellanger added: “The attempted prosecution of Julian Assange cast a dark shadow over journalists, particularly those who cover national security issues. Had Assange gone to prison for the rest of his life, any reporter handed a classified document would fear facing a similar fate.”
https://www.theguardian.com/media/live/2024/jun/25/julian-assange-prison-release-live-updates-plea-deal-return-australia-wikileaks-leaves-uk?
Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see.
We need, more than ever, to get the message: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” If we could understand that fear doesn’t profit anyone except the purveyors of fear, it might be easier to have the dialogue we so desperately need.
We are victims of our addiction to comfort in the form of safety, but one of the places we hide is behind our screens, which are filled with threats to our safety.
Go figure.
I hd not known that Sinclair was that ubiquitous! Scary!
Given Roger Ailes as the virtual “founder” of authentic fake news, we have GWB, from whose rectum Ailes emerged, to thank for yet more destruction of the American polity!
no need for sinclair in NoDak it went under back in the 90s with clear channel and cumilus.john thune entered the senate race against Tom Daschel and the yankton s.d. (knax 790) a.m. station did a marvalous job of kicking the very person who wrote and saved the family farms from forecloseures (and added a welfare state that has only today,allows the farmer/rancher to condem anyone else from any form of social welfare unless its them)to the curb for a rightwing anti tax thug. who basically wants to bring corp farming to the mainstay.and subsidies to railroads that are quite capable of supporting themselves. since deep red NoDak and noems little world of shoot amd ask questions ill ignore, has been a bastion of misinfo and outright lies. when we had KFYR(570am Fargo) as a regional,news source before 1998, they bought in rush and his excellece in propaganda, against Ed Schulz. Ed took calls, I was on many times, whereas rush became the beacon of ill just talk and you listen,sit down and shut up.(sounds like a town hall meeting today eh?) I grew up in the metro NYC/NJ area and the news was on everynite and we read newspapers. we felt we were at least informed and voted as such. today its whatever makes your mind agree with whatever you have been told over and over again. there are 4 wall around NoDak. the people are too lazy to find answers to their questions,and prefer to enjoy the bashing of the people who,once saved their ass..oh one more,thought that came up recently in my conversations with the less likely to know whats going down, seems the workers familiar with other counties than where i live, Oliver co NoDak where trump dumped his covid buy a vote for nearly $100 per acre,seems most ive spoken with got $85-100 where they lived too..
After a recent 1800 mile car trip, and scanning for a new FM station about every 30 minutes, I was struck by how many religious stations there are. Not sure what the messaging Venn Diagram looks like between religious media and conservative media though. (Couldn’t listen to either one.)
Saw a report on MSNBC one night that showed various local announcers across the country all spouting the exact same script about Biden’s age one night. They were ALL Sinclair owned local stations!!
I don’t watch local news because knowing about the latest murder or car crash fatality doesn’t enhance my well-being. I get my weather from the Weather Channel (which is still covering climate change regularly) and my national and international news from online sources I trust. I trust Sheila’s commentary and sources.
Old saying – “Garbage in; garbage out”
Note and ignore the Sinclair glut, which is to the right of the Hun led by A. The truth is almost invariably the opposite of what is offered – other than station identification.
As always Thanks, your report and the comments.
Very surprising to learn that South Bend has the only Sinclair Broadcasting station in Indiana.
A bit off subject, but very educational, is a just released film called Origin that is streaming on HULU. The main character’s research leads her to discover that a caste system is more pervasive than racism. She also discovers that Nazis used some of America’s racist laws to develop some of their own racist laws–Hitler said he used the Americans’ extermination of Native Americans as a guide for his own extermination of Jewish people.
And then we have Tegna, formerly Gannet (note the anagram less on letter). Reading how Gannet morphed into Tegna is like a looking at Gordian knot.
I used to watch local news at least once a day. I stopped about a year ago. I also canceled my subscription to NYT a few months ago. I am watching WAPO closely and may have to cancel them as well. I have had enough propaganda feeding lies and stoking fears.
I get most of my news from NPR/PBS, local and national, as well as BBC. I start each day with HCR, the Professor, Joyce Vance and Jay Quo. I seldom take any single news item at face value any more. AI is insidious and too easily manipulated. I don’t trust even casually shared posts on social media.
A truly sad and frightening state of affairs. I am glad I am old but so concerned for the world my children and grandson are going to inherit.
Efforts to provide facts to those who have doubts are pretty fruitless. Most don’t want to know or think that they will make a quick decision (with almost no current information about policies) on election day. They “don’t do politics” at their and our peril.
Vote Democrat wherever possible. Give what you can. Make an effort even in the face of hostility. You never know where you might make a difference.
And Sinclair owns The Baltimore Sun now!!! I keep fighting for the survival of local news but it’s troubling when an established, well-regarded paper becomes an outfit with an agenda that is hardly objective, does not intend to undertake solid investigative journalism to keep people informed but is, instead, an arm of the Far Right, a place for conspiracy theories to find a “legitimate” home, and an extension of its Ailes-inspired stations….This is not a good trend. I fear others will follow and given the challenges newspapers are facing, they may become targets.