Overview

Sinclair Broadcasting Local News Script refers to the discovery that several local news stations owned by conservative-leaning Sinclair Broadcast Group are routinely forced to read scripts provided to them that push conservative talking points, particularly liberal media bias or fake news. The discovery spread after several videos were made showing dozens of news stations reading the same script.

Background

On March 30th, 2018, ThinkProgress^[1] posted an article reporting that local news stations owned by Sinclair were being forced to read scripts prepared for them. They also created a video which spliced together different newscasters reading from the same script (shown below).

They reported that Seattle-based ABC affiliate KOMO-TV^[2] had first complained about the script. KOMO-TV also provided the script in their article about the controversy (shown below).

Hi, I’m(A) ____________, and I’m (B) _________________…
(B) Our greatest responsibility is to serve our Northwest communities. We are extremely proud of the quality, balanced journalism that KOMO News produces.
(A) But we’re concerned about the troubling trend of irresponsible, one sided news stories plaguing our country. The sharing of biased and false news has become all too common on social media.
(B) More alarming, some media outlets publish these same fake stories… stories that just aren’t true, without checking facts first.
(A) Unfortunately, some members of the media use their platforms to push their own personal bias and agenda to control ‘exactly what people think’…This is extremely dangerous to a democracy.
(B) At KOMO it’s our responsibility to pursue and report the truth. We understand Truth is neither politically ‘left nor right.’ Our commitment to factual reporting is the foundation of our credibility, now more than ever.
(A) But we are human and sometimes our reporting might fall short. If you believe our coverage is unfair please reach out to us by going to KOMOnews.com and clicking on CONTENT CONCERNS. We value your comments. We will respond back to you.
(B) We work very hard to seek the truth and strive to be fair, balanced and factual… We consider it our honor, our privilege to responsibly deliver the news every day.
(A) Thank you for watching and we appreciate your feedback.

Developments

The following day, Deadspin^[3] published a video that showed even more newscasters reading off a Sinclair script.

As the video spread, several news organizations reported the story. CNN ran a segment about the video on April 1st, 2018 (shown below).

Several publications including New York Magazine^[4] and the New York Times^[5] also covered the video, as well as criticism lobbed at Sinclair. For example, Democratic congressman David E. Price called the script "pro-Trump propaganda," and Peter Chernin, the longtime president of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, called the script "insidious." It is not the first time Sinclair stations have pushed "must-run" segments that have been accused of conservative bias, which have included criticizing 2004 Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, praising President Trump, and speeches from company executives. John Oliver ran a segment about the corporation's practices in 2017.

President Trump responded to the controversy by praising Sinclair and belittling CNN and other stations he has routinely called "Fake News." A thread on /r/OutOfTheLoop^[6] about the video's presence on Reddit gained over 8,500 upvotes.

Search Interest

External References