Press Release
Report blasts Sinclair abuse of power
Contact: Timothy Karr, 201-533-8838
Washington – As Sinclair Broadcasting Group—the largest owner of local television stations in the U.S.—orders its nationwide affiliates to preempt regular programming to air an anti-Kerry documentary, Free Press is releasing a new report (available at www.sinclairwatch.org) that cites several Sinclair business practices that are reprehensible at best and illegal at worst.
Eleven of Sinclair’s 62 TV stations are not owned by the company, but operated under so-called local marketing agreements (LMAs) which allow Sinclair to circumvent media ownership rules. Of those LMA-operated stations, at least five are owned by Cunningham Broadcasting, a company held by the family members of Sinclair CEO David Smith. LMA-operated stations are legally required to maintain their own programming authority, but Sinclair’s actions indicate that they may be illegally forcing programming decisions upon their LMA-operated stations.
The report also cites Sinclair’s partisan political record of using its TV stations to promote decidedly Republican viewpoints at the cost of journalistic standards and objective political coverage. Soon after 9/11, the company required their affiliates to express allegiance to the Bush Administration on the air. More recently, Sinclair pulled Nightline from its ABC affiliates when anchor Ted Koppel broadcast the photos and names of US soldiers slain in Iraq.
"Sinclair abuses its free access to the public airwaves to push its candidates, and then receives payback in the form of favorable media policies made behind closed doors," stated Free Press founder Robert W. McChesney. "This is not a liberal or conservative issue. Free Press would react the same way if Sinclair were broadcasting anti-Bush propaganda. We have to wonder where our conservative friends are who would be so outraged if Sinclair were to abuse its broadcast licenses to serve the Kerry cause, instead of Bush."
This year, 97% of Sinclair’s campaign contributions—which total more than $67,000—went to GOP candidates, as the White House aggressively pushed to lift media ownership caps in order to bolster the bottom lines of Sinclair and other powerful media corporations.
“Sinclair’s complete lack of journalistic principles and lack of respect for the public interest shows why consolidation of media ownership poses the gravest threat to our democracy,” said Free Press executive director Josh Silver. “With a reach of over one quarter of the U.S. population, Sinclair's partisan decisions can unduly influence U.S. elections and the future of our country.”
The report also details Sinclair’s practice of “central-casting” entire segments of ‘local’ news, including their requirement that affiliates broadcast commentary by ultraconservative commentator Mark Hyman as part of local news programming across the country. Hyman is Sinclair’s Vice President of Corporate Affairs and head of the company’s government lobbying operations.
Free Press is launching a national campaign to challenge Sinclair’s broadcast license renewals (www.sinclairwatch.org), a number of which are due to expire soon.
Free Press(www.freepress.net) is a national non-partisan organization that seeks to increase informed public participation in media policy and to promote a more competitive, public interest-oriented media system. It was founded by University of Illinois professor, media scholar and author Robert McChesney.
Eleven of Sinclair’s 62 TV stations are not owned by the company, but operated under so-called local marketing agreements (LMAs) which allow Sinclair to circumvent media ownership rules. Of those LMA-operated stations, at least five are owned by Cunningham Broadcasting, a company held by the family members of Sinclair CEO David Smith. LMA-operated stations are legally required to maintain their own programming authority, but Sinclair’s actions indicate that they may be illegally forcing programming decisions upon their LMA-operated stations.
The report also cites Sinclair’s partisan political record of using its TV stations to promote decidedly Republican viewpoints at the cost of journalistic standards and objective political coverage. Soon after 9/11, the company required their affiliates to express allegiance to the Bush Administration on the air. More recently, Sinclair pulled Nightline from its ABC affiliates when anchor Ted Koppel broadcast the photos and names of US soldiers slain in Iraq.
"Sinclair abuses its free access to the public airwaves to push its candidates, and then receives payback in the form of favorable media policies made behind closed doors," stated Free Press founder Robert W. McChesney. "This is not a liberal or conservative issue. Free Press would react the same way if Sinclair were broadcasting anti-Bush propaganda. We have to wonder where our conservative friends are who would be so outraged if Sinclair were to abuse its broadcast licenses to serve the Kerry cause, instead of Bush."
This year, 97% of Sinclair’s campaign contributions—which total more than $67,000—went to GOP candidates, as the White House aggressively pushed to lift media ownership caps in order to bolster the bottom lines of Sinclair and other powerful media corporations.
“Sinclair’s complete lack of journalistic principles and lack of respect for the public interest shows why consolidation of media ownership poses the gravest threat to our democracy,” said Free Press executive director Josh Silver. “With a reach of over one quarter of the U.S. population, Sinclair's partisan decisions can unduly influence U.S. elections and the future of our country.”
The report also details Sinclair’s practice of “central-casting” entire segments of ‘local’ news, including their requirement that affiliates broadcast commentary by ultraconservative commentator Mark Hyman as part of local news programming across the country. Hyman is Sinclair’s Vice President of Corporate Affairs and head of the company’s government lobbying operations.
Free Press is launching a national campaign to challenge Sinclair’s broadcast license renewals (www.sinclairwatch.org), a number of which are due to expire soon.
Free Press(www.freepress.net) is a national non-partisan organization that seeks to increase informed public participation in media policy and to promote a more competitive, public interest-oriented media system. It was founded by University of Illinois professor, media scholar and author Robert McChesney.
