General Discussion

alp227

(32,015 posts) Sun Jan 4, 2015, 09:29 PM Jan 2015

Right wing Sinclair Broadcasting strikes again, with the "kill a cop" hoax.

You may remember the blatantly misleading news report by WBFF, the Fox station in Baltimore, about a protest against police brutality. The report deceptively suggested that protesters chanted "kill a cop". In reality, the chant was, "We won’t stop. We can’t stop ‘til killer cops are in cell blocks."

Well, whadya know, which company owns WBFF? That's right, Sinclair Broadcast Group, a company notorious for inserting right wing propaganda in its stations. Among its noted stunts, refusing to carry an edition of ABC News Nightline in which Ted Koppel read the names of soldiers who died in the Iraq War:

In April 2004, Sinclair's ABC affiliates refused to air an episode of Nightline that featured a reading of the names of soldiers killed in the 2003 invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq. In response, Sinclair argued that the broadcast &quot

appeared) to be motivated by a political agenda designed to undermine the efforts of the United States in Iraq." ABC responded, saying that the program was meant to be "an expression of respect which seeks to honor those who have laid down their lives for this country."[77][78] Afterward, the company's political slant was scrutinized by critics when it was publicized that nearly all of Sinclair's recent campaign contributions were to the Republican Party. In particular, the Center for Public Integrity showed concern that the Republican slant of Sinclair's news programming, along with Mark Hyman's past history of government lobbying...

As well as pre-empting network primetime programming one night in October 2004 to Swiftboat John Kerry:

Later in October 2004, just two weeks prior to the 2004 presidential election, it was reported that all 62 of Sinclair's stations would preempt prime time programming to air Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal, a documentary critical of U.S. presidential candidate John Kerry's anti-Vietnam War activism.[79] The film was produced by Carlton Sherwood, a former associate of Tom Ridge, and accuses John Kerry of prolonging the Vietnam War because of his anti-war activism. The organization Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, an anti-Kerry organization whose name become well known in the 2004 election year, was cross-promoting the film as part of a $1.4 million advertising campaign.[80] In response, the Democratic National Committee filed a legal motion with the Federal Election Commission stating that it is inappropriate for the media organization to air "partisan propaganda" in the last 10 days of an election campaign.[81] Following the incident, Sinclair fired its Washington bureau chief Jon Lieberman for publicly criticizing the film in The Baltimore Sun as "biased political propaganda."[82]

The executive meddling would carry on, into the 2010 and 2012 elections:

In November 2010, it was reported that five Fox affiliates and one ABC affiliate owned by Sinclair broadcast an infomercial critical of President Barack Obama, Breaking Point: 25 Minutes that will Change America, which was sponsored by the National Republican Trust Political Action Group.[83] The infomercial painted Obama as an extremist, and claimed that, during the 2008 presidential campaign, he received some campaign money from the Hamas terrorist group, and that Obama said in a speech, "You want freedom? You’re gonna have to kill some crackers! You gonna have to kill some of those babies." The special also discusses Obama advisers Van Jones and John Holdren, as well as Obama staff Anita Dunn, Kevin Jennings, Carol Browner, and Cass Sunstein—all in an unflattering light; in one case, the special claimed that Holdren said that trees should be permitted to sue humans in court...

On November 5, 2012, six Sinclair stations in swing states aired a special focusing on issues surrounding the presidential election occurring the next day, such as the Libyan civil war and Health care reform; the special consisted of a series of segments which were presented by the local anchors at each station. While scheduling of the special was at the discretion of each station, WSYX pre-empted both ABC World News and Nightline to air it.[86] The special was met with controversy for showing a bias against Barack Obama and focusing little on Republican candidate Mitt Romney, as opposed to showcasing both candidates equally. In particular, a writer for the political website Talking Points Memo felt that the special "sounded more like Fox News than local news." ...

And given all this, it should NOT come as a surprise to know that it's very possible that Sinclair's executive meddling resulted in this big lie. The website If You Only News quotes an anonymous source in WBFF:

Outside of speculation, I can say that ultimately, News Director Mike Tomko, and VP of News Scott Livingston (also a higher up at Si(n)clair Broadcast Group, the station’s parent company), are the ones who would be most accountable for the incident. Tomko is ultimately responsible for all Fox 45 News programming content that makes air, and Livingston is responsible for the entire station, effectively. If people want a name to put the blame to, the reporter already suffered the consequences of a dubious set of circumstances, and theres (sic) people who are in charge, and responsible, and just so happen to have extremely shady reputations within the station.