The Death of the Media
(Image courtesy of Scissorhead Bruce388)
So funny to watch Fake News Networks, among the most dishonest groups of people I have ever dealt with, criticize Sinclair Broadcasting for being biased. Sinclair is far superior to CNN and even more Fake NBC, which is a total joke.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 2, 2018
As you may recall, Sinclair is forcing their on-air talent to editorialize about Fake News!!1!
From Reliable Sources email thingie:
Last month local anchors at Sinclair-owned TV stations were required to record a promo while reading a script about “fake” news last month. As I first reported for CNNMoney, the script is an echo of President Trump‘s anti-media rhetoric, reflecting the company’s conservative politics. NOW the promos are airing… And they’ve gone VIRAL…
WHAT’S NEW: Deadspin edited dozens of them together, making the anchors in various markets sound like robots. The compilation racked up millions of views over the weekend…
WHAT’S NEXT: Sinclair’s corporate mandates are exacerbating tensions between the company’s local stations and its management. Will there be more internal resistance? I’m already hearing that some anchors refused to play along…
I’ve been talking with staffers at Sinclair-owned stations for several weeks. They described tense conversations in their newsrooms and anger directed at HQ. It’s about the promos AND about other edicts that seem politically motivated. Here are some of the choice quotes from staffers who insisted on anonymity:
— “I try everyday to do fair, local stories, some Trump-related, but it’s always washed out by this stuff they do at a national level…”
— “It sickens me the way this company is encroaching upon trusted news brands in rural markets…”
— “I feel bad” for viewers “because they’re seeing these people they’ve trusted for decades tell them things they know are essentially propaganda…”
And yet, they still do the editorials.
So get back to us about how many resign on principle, OK? https://t.co/C7TOvutPrD
— Tengrain, covfefe-boy (@Tengrain) April 2, 2018
OK, I know THAT was glib. These are real people with real careers that would be in jeopardy if they quit: those media markets are all owned by Sinclair, they cannot cross the street and work for the competition.
When we talk about reforming The Media, that includes returning to the rules that put limits on how many stations can be owned by a single entity in a market.
This Sinclair bidness is really insidious stuff, and I know I’m saying Orwellian a lot lately, but if this isn’t official proclamations from Big Brother, then what is it?
Oh dear. Very Orewellian indeed. And I’m sure that this is okay, yet, Trump would be the first to say something about other countries who do the same thing albeit on a grander scale.
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Actually, the last, methinks. He sees Putin’s Russia as a role model.
rgds,
TG
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In terms of Russia, yeah, but I was thinking more North Korea and China. Irony seems to lost on him when it comes to China.
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Its worse than we know;
https://media.thinknum.com/articles/sinclair-went-on-massive-unpaid-intern-hiring-spree-this-winter/
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I once quit a job on principles and I am here to say “it doesn’t put much food on the table.”
I was in an OK place at the time and it wasn’t the end of my world, but for some it might be.
Have pity for the “Wage Slaves”, that can’t afford to walk away. Stuck in a Nazi like company, fearing you will be forced out, and lose that health plan, or new car, or even your home.
A sad existence indeed.
w3ski
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If only we had some sort of law or agency that dealt with things like that…
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So NBC still reports some actual news? How is CBS doing? I remember when, of the three biggest news stations in the Seattle area, CBS was the only one to continue reporting on the ‘battle in Seattle’ when the cops chased all of the reporters off of the streets and told them “don’t look – we’ll be busy for a while’. They did go to their rooms, but they stuck their cameras out of their windows and kept filming. Only one of the three.
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Check out Matt Pearce on Twitter. He’s picking a Sinclair employment contract apart, and it’s not pretty.
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Possibly the worst thing Ronald Reagan did to America was when he had his FCC czar eliminate the fairness doctrine. That one move launched the careers of Rush, Beck, Fox News and all of the other right-wing hate propaganda we have today.
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