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Sinclair's new media-bashing promos rankle local anchors
Hat tip, DCRTV.com: http://www.dcrtv.com/mailbag.html
Sinclair's new local promos to air: The promos are supposed to start airing on local stations later this month. The instructions sent to station news directors say that the 60- and 75-second spots should run frequently "to create maximum reach and frequency."... The promos begin with one or two anchors introducing themselves and saying "I'm [we are] extremely proud of the quality, balanced journalism that [proper news brand name of local station] produces. But I'm [we are] concerned about the troubling trend of irresponsible, one sided news stories plaguing our country." (I especially like the dress code at the bottom of the article.) money.cnn.com (3/8/18)
Sinclair's new media-bashing promos rankle local anchors
by Brian Stelter @brianstelter March 7, 2018: 9:44 PM ET
Text from script to be read by Sinclair's local anchors
"This is so manipulative."
That's an anchor at a local TV station owned by Sinclair, describing the company's latest mandate, a promotional campaign that sounds like pro-Trump propaganda. ... Internal documents call the new initiative an "anchor delivered journalistic responsibility message." ... But the staffers who shared the documents with CNN say the promos are inappropriate -- yet another corporate infringement on local journalism.
"At my station, everyone was uncomfortable doing it," a local anchor said. The person insisted on anonymity because they believed they would be fired for speaking out. ... Other local anchors also said the promos were a source of dismay in their newsrooms. ... As scripted, the promos decry "fake stories" from national news outlets -- echoing President Trump's inflammatory rhetoric about "fake news." .... "I felt like a POW recording a message," one of the anchors said.
....
After this story was published, {Scott Livingston, the company's senior vice president of news} sent CNN another copy of the script. It had one big difference: The word "national" was missing. Instead, it said "some media outlets" publish "fake stories." ... The rest of the language remained the same. Livingston said this script was "distributed yesterday to our stations." He declined to answer other questions on the record.
The instructions for producing and airing the localized versions went into great detail about how the promos "should look and sound," according to another document obtained by CNN. ... "Talent should dress in jewel tones -- however they should not look political in their dress or attire," one of the documents says. "Avoid total red, blue and purples dresses and suits. Avoid totally red, blue and purple ties, the goal is to look apolitical, neutral, nonpartisan yet professional. Black or charcoal suits for men...females should wear yellow, gold, magenta, cyan, but avoid red, blue or purple." ... At the end of the promo, viewers are encouraged to send in feedback "if you believe our coverage is unfair." ... The instructions say that "corporate will monitor the comments and send replies to your audience on your behalf." ... In other words, local stations are cut out of the interactions with viewers. Management will handle it instead.
CNNMoney (New York) First published March 7, 2018: 5:52 PM ET
by Brian Stelter @brianstelter March 7, 2018: 9:44 PM ET
Text from script to be read by Sinclair's local anchors
"This is so manipulative."
That's an anchor at a local TV station owned by Sinclair, describing the company's latest mandate, a promotional campaign that sounds like pro-Trump propaganda. ... Internal documents call the new initiative an "anchor delivered journalistic responsibility message." ... But the staffers who shared the documents with CNN say the promos are inappropriate -- yet another corporate infringement on local journalism.
"At my station, everyone was uncomfortable doing it," a local anchor said. The person insisted on anonymity because they believed they would be fired for speaking out. ... Other local anchors also said the promos were a source of dismay in their newsrooms. ... As scripted, the promos decry "fake stories" from national news outlets -- echoing President Trump's inflammatory rhetoric about "fake news." .... "I felt like a POW recording a message," one of the anchors said.
....
After this story was published, {Scott Livingston, the company's senior vice president of news} sent CNN another copy of the script. It had one big difference: The word "national" was missing. Instead, it said "some media outlets" publish "fake stories." ... The rest of the language remained the same. Livingston said this script was "distributed yesterday to our stations." He declined to answer other questions on the record.
The instructions for producing and airing the localized versions went into great detail about how the promos "should look and sound," according to another document obtained by CNN. ... "Talent should dress in jewel tones -- however they should not look political in their dress or attire," one of the documents says. "Avoid total red, blue and purples dresses and suits. Avoid totally red, blue and purple ties, the goal is to look apolitical, neutral, nonpartisan yet professional. Black or charcoal suits for men...females should wear yellow, gold, magenta, cyan, but avoid red, blue or purple." ... At the end of the promo, viewers are encouraged to send in feedback "if you believe our coverage is unfair." ... The instructions say that "corporate will monitor the comments and send replies to your audience on your behalf." ... In other words, local stations are cut out of the interactions with viewers. Management will handle it instead.
CNNMoney (New York) First published March 7, 2018: 5:52 PM ET
14 replies
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= new reply since forum marked as read
https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2018/03/05/there-no-audience-boris-epshteyns-pro-trump-propaganda-so-sinclair-forces-it-people/219554
Remember how relentlessly, obnoxiously mendacious this prick was?
He’s now their chief Goebbels clone
For nearly a year now, Sinclair Broadcast Group has been mandating that its local news stations air commentary segments from former Trump aide Boris Epshteyn. It’s essentially force-feeding local audiences Trump propaganda between community news and weather -- and the numbers show no one would watch it otherwise.
Sinclair is a corporate giant that owns or operates around 190 local TV news stations across the country, and it’s been quietly forcing its stations to air nationally produced right-wing spin for years. But when it hired Epshteyn, fresh from a stint in the Trump administration, to serve as its “chief political analyst,” it was only a matter of time before everyone was paying attention. Numerous media and business reporters highlighted Sinclair’s twofold plan for growing local right-wing news: using the company’s still-pending acquisition of Tribune Media stations to further expand its reach across the country (with its potentially unethical relationship with the Trump administration and its appointees paving the way), and hiring Epshteyn as a new, Trump-aligned star for “must-run” national segments.
After I spent the last 11 months in the Sinclair rabbit hole with these reporters, one thing has become awkwardly, painfully obvious to me: Sinclair is forcing its stations to run Epshteyn’s segments because no one cares otherwise. There is no organic audience actively seeking out his pro-Trump commentary.
At the time it hired Epshteyn, Sinclair touted its new analyst as providing “unique perspective to the political conversation” that would “better inform and empower our viewers.” It also made the decision months later to up his airtime, though the company declined to say why.
I watch each new “Bottom Line with Boris” must-run segment on his YouTube channel, usually shortly after it’s posted. On YouTube, I alone account for a not-insignificant portion of his total viewership, which is usually less than 50.
Sinclair is a corporate giant that owns or operates around 190 local TV news stations across the country, and it’s been quietly forcing its stations to air nationally produced right-wing spin for years. But when it hired Epshteyn, fresh from a stint in the Trump administration, to serve as its “chief political analyst,” it was only a matter of time before everyone was paying attention. Numerous media and business reporters highlighted Sinclair’s twofold plan for growing local right-wing news: using the company’s still-pending acquisition of Tribune Media stations to further expand its reach across the country (with its potentially unethical relationship with the Trump administration and its appointees paving the way), and hiring Epshteyn as a new, Trump-aligned star for “must-run” national segments.
After I spent the last 11 months in the Sinclair rabbit hole with these reporters, one thing has become awkwardly, painfully obvious to me: Sinclair is forcing its stations to run Epshteyn’s segments because no one cares otherwise. There is no organic audience actively seeking out his pro-Trump commentary.
At the time it hired Epshteyn, Sinclair touted its new analyst as providing “unique perspective to the political conversation” that would “better inform and empower our viewers.” It also made the decision months later to up his airtime, though the company declined to say why.
I watch each new “Bottom Line with Boris” must-run segment on his YouTube channel, usually shortly after it’s posted. On YouTube, I alone account for a not-insignificant portion of his total viewership, which is usually less than 50.
