"Former Sinclair Reporter Calls Media Group ‘Ridiculous Propaganda,’ ‘Embarrassment to the Profession’
By Ryan Sit On 4/2/1
http://www.newsweek.com/sinclair-broadcast-group-former-reporter-propaganda-embarrassment-868359
"Sinclair’s remarkable gaslighting operation"
by Erik Wemple 5 April 2018
"In recent weeks, cable news — particularly CNN — has covered the legal wrangling over the story of Stormy Daniels, the adult-film actress who claims to have had sex with Donald Trump in 2006. The story encompasses not only allegations of marital infidelity but also hush money and possibly illegal campaign contributions — all very easily journalistic fair game. On the “Bottom Line,” of course, the matter boiled down to prurience. “Sex sells, no matter whether it actually happened or not,” remarked Epshteyn in a March 27 commentary. “Most cable networks and shows are run and staffed by those who cannot stand President Trump and will take any opportunity to embarrass him.”
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Erik Wemple Opinion Opinion A column or article in the Opinions section (in print, this is known as the Editorial Pages).
Sinclair’s remarkable gaslighting operation
by Erik Wemple by Erik Wemple Email the author Erik Wemple Opinion Opinion A column or article in the Opinions section (in print, this is known as the Editorial Pages).
April 5 Email the author
In the early days of the Trump White House, press secretary Sean Spicer spun falsehoods to the media about the size of President Trump’s inauguration crowd; told the media, “I believe that we have to be honest with the American people, but I think sometimes we can disagree with the facts”; asserted, in defiance of history, that Hitler — as opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad — didn’t “sink to using chemical weapons”; and otherwise bullied and blundered his way through briefings.
After several months of this charade, the White House began pulling back on televised briefings. In most places, the developments cast the White House in a questionable light.
Then there’s the “Bottom Line With Boris” — a commentary segment helmed by Boris Epshteyn, chief political analyst for the Sinclair Broadcast Group and its 173 local television stations across the country. When Epshteyn alighted on the White House briefing troubles in a June 2017 edition of “Bottom Line,” Spicer’s gaffes were difficult to find. “From the very start of the Trump presidency, the press briefings have veered way off course. They’ve become much more theater than information-gathering — theater in which, frankly, the press has often played the leading role.”
Another theme of the Trump White House is turnover and chaos, as has been documented in painstakingly sourced reports in the New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN and many other outlets. One moment the White House policy on any given issue is X; then, after a Trump tweet or comment to the media, it is Y. It’s all good on the “Bottom Line,” however. “Just because someone in media says there’s a meltdown in Washington, D.C., does not make that true,” said Epshteyn in a commentary from last month. “Crisis, even when it does not exist, sells.”
Epshteyn worked on the Trump campaign and, briefly, for the Trump White House.
In recent weeks, cable news — particularly CNN — has covered the legal wrangling over the story of Stormy Daniels, the adult-film actress who claims to have had sex with Donald Trump in 2006. The story encompasses not only allegations of marital infidelity but also hush money and possibly illegal campaign contributions — all very easily journalistic fair game. On the “Bottom Line,” of course, the matter boiled down to prurience. “Sex sells, no matter whether it actually happened or not,” remarked Epshteyn in a March 27 commentary. “Most cable networks and shows are run and staffed by those who cannot stand President Trump and will take any opportunity to embarrass him.”
“Bottom Line” is proof that the Trump goal of delegitimizing the American press is better served by placing his lackeys in the press, rather than keeping them in some White House sinecure. In commentary after commentary, Epshteyn’s focus is classic counterprogramming aimed at convincing members of his audience that the news they’re finding elsewhere doesn’t merit their time. Chaos? Doesn’t exist. Spicer’s ruinous tenure at the podium? Media’s fault."
Severing Americans from the truth with "alternative facts" or simple lies.
"In his Wednesday edition of “Bottom Line,” Epshteyn defended his commentary from critics of Sinclair. “As you see, my segments are very clearly marked as ‘commentary.’ The same cannot be said for cable and broadcast news hosts who inject their opinions and bias into news coverage all the time without drawing any lines between them,” he said, in part.
Those segments are erroneously marked. A better tag would be “A Couple of Minutes of Gaslighting With Boris,” or, for more clarity, “Your Propaganda Break With Boris.” There’s an argument for remaining calm about Sinclair’s shenanigans, as articulated by Politico’s Jack Shafer. “I might join the liberal dither if Sinclair wiped out its competition on the dial. But as long as I can still change my local channel and avoid Sinclair’s partisan hackery, where’s the crisis?” he asked.
Tweety skips up to the podium and gleefully points to CNN or the Washington Post reporters before they ask a question, and says "Fake news." THAT is ignored by many. Tweety calls any critical news he does not like "fake." It's not fake! It's facts. Sadly, the FACT any news, even news word-for-word QUOTING Tweety, repeating any if his idiotic or dumb tweets, that Tweety dislikes, Tweety calls it "fake."
Tweety says he is the best President, has the best ideas, gets an "A+", scores a 10 out of 10 on everything he does. Tweety, according to Tweety, is a genius!
Just because Tweety says something does NOT make it true!
Sinclair Broadcast Group (SBG) scripted message in April consistent with Donald Trump's war on all media he does not like, and the autocratic, dictator, messiah aspirations of President Donald Trump is why we need more guns, lot more military type weapons, not less guns in the United States.
I was not dispositioned this way until the SBG did their think-thing for Trump.
The crazy, insane Sinclair Broadcast about fake news is as scary as 1984, and looks like our worst fears of a tyrannical ruler's propaganda weapon.
"Trump said Sinclair ‘is far superior to CNN.’ What we know about the conservative media giant."
by Eli Rosenberg April 3, 2018
"Sinclair Broadcast Group is not as well-known a name in television as Fox News’s News Corp. or CNN’s Turner Broadcasting System, but its reach may rival that of a cable juggernaut.
The company is the largest owner of local television stations in the country, with 173 stations in 81 broadcast markets that stretch from coast to coast and just about everywhere in between, at a time when local news outpaces national news outlets both in overall viewership and trust. About 85 percent of Americans trust local news outlets, more than the 77 percent for family or friends, according to the Pew Research Center."
"Sinclair Broadcast Group responds to criticism of 'Orwellian' scripted mantra shown across local TV news"
'We aren’t sure of the motivation for the criticism, but find it curious'
Christopher Hooton Tuesday 3 April 2018
"The broadcasting group responsible for a message trotted across local news outlets across the US has defended the move, insisting the "promos served no political agenda".
Warning viewers to be mindful of "unsubstantiated stories that exist on social media", the message, delivered by news anchors, brought Donald Trump's "fake news" rhetoric to the minds of many, and the president himself defended the group on Twitter following initial reports."
Really? Sinclair Broadcasting wants America to "buy" a rationale of "service" when none is rendered, but rather a mass of confusion is offered. The SBG message told us NOTHING! it was an obvious and useless piece of propaganda about some undefined threat called "fake" news? Really? You think we are that stupid? Maybe we are, but I hope not.
The SBG message:
"We aren’t sure of the motivation for the criticism, but find it curious that we would be attacked for asking our news people to remind their audiences that unsubstantiated stories exist on social media, which result in an ill-informed public with potentially dangerous consequences. It is ironic that we would be attacked for messages promoting our journalistic initiative for fair and objective reporting, and for specifically asking the public to hold our newsrooms accountable. Our local stations keep our audiences’ trust by staying focused on fact-based reporting and clearly identifying commentary.”"
You really want us to believe yours was an innocent message, not intended to make SBG look like the source of truth and real facts while all other media is "fake?" Really?
I, personally, am not buying your BS. I call, "BS!" In fact, at least one Fox station stood up and ignored your deceit.
"Madison's FOX47 ignored Sinclair Broadcast Group's corporate announcement about 'fake news'"
Lainey Seyler, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Published 12:46 p.m. CT April 3, 2018
"A Madison news station ignored a Sinclair Broadcasting request that anchors read a promotional message about "fake news" on air Sunday night.
Instead, FOX47 said on Twitter that it "stayed true to our commitment to provide our Madison area viewers local news, weather and sports of interest to them." The station has not aired the promo. "
Here's the basis of MY fear - Trump's government helped SBG get as big and powerful as they are.
"How Trump's FCC aided Sinclair's expansion"
Use of a regulatory loophole will allow Sinclair to reach 72 percent of U.S. households after buying Tribune’s stations.
By MARGARET HARDING MCGILL and JOHN HENDEL 08/06/2017
https://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/06/trump-fcc-sinclair-broadcast-expansion-241337
"The FCC and the company both say the agency wasn’t giving Sinclair any special favors by reviving the loophole, known as the “UHF discount,” which has long been considered technologically obsolete. But the Tribune deal would not have been viable if not for Pai’s intervention: Sinclair already reaches an estimated 38 percent of U.S. households without the discount, leaving it almost no room for growth.
The loophole is a throwback to the days when the ultra-high-frequency TV spectrum — the part higher than Channel 13 — was filled with low-budget stations with often-scratchy reception over analog rabbit ears. That quality gap no longer exists in today's world of digital television, but under the policy that Pai revived, the commission does not fully count those stations’ market size when tallying a broadcaster's national reach."
"News Anchors Reciting Sinclair Propaganda Is Even More Terrifying in Unison"
By Chas Danner 1 april 2018