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Two Sinclair Stations in Maine Under Scrutiny for Editorial Segments [Pro-Trump]
Adweek/TVSpy.com ^ | 8/1/17 | Stephanie Tsoflias

Posted on 08/02/2017 7:43:54 AM PDT by SoFloFreeper

Sinclair’s two stations in Portland, Maine are making headlines for their ‘must run’ segments.

The Press Herald posted a story over the weekend that described the stations as ‘being under fire for pro-Trump’ political segments that run on WGME and WPFO.

A politically independent viewer, Marc McCutcheon, described the experience of watching the must-runs as “surreal,” “extremely jarring” and “so out of place with the friendly, local broadcast from news people I’ve come to trust over the years.” There was no rebuttal, no context, no alternate point of view – a situation he found concerning.”

According to the Herald:

WGME-TV (Channel 13) and WPFO-TV (Channel 23) each carry the segments nine times a week on orders from their owner, the Maryland-based Sinclair Broadcasting Group, the nation’s largest owner of local television stations and an aggressive, unabashed disseminator of conservative commentary supporting the Trump wing of the Republican Party.

The company has been in the national news regularly this year because the pro-Trump segments are appearing at the same time the company is awaiting approval from the Trump administration for it to purchase the 42 stations of the Tribune Media company, which will extend its reach to 72 percent of American households.

Epshteyn has been a Sinclair employee since April. His pieces are produced at Sinclair’s headquarters outside Baltimore and distributed to the company’s 173 local stations on a “must run” basis, along with conservative commentary from a former company executive, Mark Hyman, and nightly updates from their Terrorism Alert Desk, regardless of whether there was any terrorism that day to be alerted about. No segments present countervailing points of view.

These segments have come under national scrutiny. When the paper reached out to WGME’s general manager, Tom Humpage did not respond to numerous interview requests.

Sinclair Broadcasting’s vice president, Scott Livingston, said this to the Maine Sunday Telegram, “we believe our commentaries contribute to the diversity of views in the marketplace,” he wrote, but would not say why the company does not provide a variety of perspectives to its affiliates.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Maine
KEYWORDS: bias; news; sinclair; tds; tv
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To: Timpanagos1

I hope that gas station received “historic preservation” status.


21 posted on 08/02/2017 8:23:29 AM PDT by VanShuyten ("...that all the donkeys were dead. I know nothing as to the fate of the less valuable animals.")
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To: SoFloFreeper

Sinclair Broadcasting was founded by members of the Smith family from Baltimore. Julian Smith’s sons run it now and they are good patriotic conservatives. I watch their first station, the UHF WBFF (now “FOX 45”) for the morning news, weather, and traffic to the exclusion of the other MSN network affiliates. These guys could build a cable channel to kill (or at least severely wound) FOX.


22 posted on 08/02/2017 8:26:34 AM PDT by VietVet876
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To: Red Badger

23 posted on 08/02/2017 8:26:41 AM PDT by iowamark
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To: iowamark

Are their still any Sinclair stations?

There haven’t been any around here in The South since I was a kid........................


24 posted on 08/02/2017 8:28:38 AM PDT by Red Badger (Road Rage lasts 5 minutes. Road Rash lasts 5 months!.....................)
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To: SoFloFreeper

Marc McCutcheon

He is a leftist activist and writer in Maine. Big deal on the Notey Fox
http://www.notey.com/blogs/fox
where leftists go to get their marching orders on how to attack Fox news and Trump.

There is nothing independent about this man, and the broadcasts are a breath of fresh air in Maine’s leftist news and broadcast swamp.


25 posted on 08/02/2017 8:29:27 AM PDT by Chickensoup (Leftists today are speaking as if they plan to commence to commit genocide against conservatives.)
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To: SoFloFreeper

Before this new gig, Epshteyn appeared on PBS as an occasional guest analyst. He caught my attention as a breath of fresh air. Sinclair ran the Swift Boat documentary shortly before the 2004 non-election of John Kerry.
Lots to like here!


26 posted on 08/02/2017 8:29:30 AM PDT by ntnychik
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To: Red Badger

Mostly western US:

https://www.sinclairoil.com/customers/locations


27 posted on 08/02/2017 8:32:34 AM PDT by iowamark
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To: SoFloFreeper

Are they going to go after OANN next? OANN runs regular, patriotic, pro-American segments, in between their shows.

Can we go after/scrutinize Fake News Media (CNN, et al) for their 24/7 anti-Trump segments?


28 posted on 08/02/2017 8:32:35 AM PDT by Jane Long (Praise God, from whom ALL blessings flow.)
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To: Vlad The Inhaler

Spot on.


29 posted on 08/02/2017 8:33:29 AM PDT by Jane Long (Praise God, from whom ALL blessings flow.)
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To: iowamark

No wonder.
I haven’t been out west since 1974..........................


30 posted on 08/02/2017 8:33:37 AM PDT by Red Badger (Road Rage lasts 5 minutes. Road Rash lasts 5 months!.....................)
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To: Steve_Seattle
"There was no rebuttal, no context, no alternate point of view – a situation he found concerning."

Oh,STFU hypocrite! That's priceless! In the perfect liberal/"progressive" world America would resemble the Soviet Union and I have a guess who would end up in Siberia for violations of speech.

31 posted on 08/02/2017 9:15:20 AM PDT by shanover (...To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them.-S.Adams)
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To: SoFloFreeper

Poor Snowflakes; so beautiful, all unique, so fragile-their existence so brief before they meltdown.


32 posted on 08/02/2017 9:31:59 AM PDT by Darteaus94025 (Can't have a Liberal without a Lie)
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To: Red Badger

33 posted on 08/02/2017 10:03:44 AM PDT by Bloody Sam Roberts ("Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment." - Will Rogers)
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To: Bloody Sam Roberts

I loved that show!
I don’t know why it was cancelled..............


34 posted on 08/02/2017 10:08:10 AM PDT by Red Badger (Road Rage lasts 5 minutes. Road Rash lasts 5 months!.....................)
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To: Red Badger
Me too.

"Yes, my Captain!"

35 posted on 08/02/2017 10:49:57 AM PDT by Bloody Sam Roberts ("Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment." - Will Rogers)
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To: SoFloFreeper

So here’s an idea. Make $50,000,000 and but a TV station. Run it successfully and if you choose, film some Must run segments of your own giving your opinion.

What? Don’t have $50,000,000 to buy a TV station?

Bummer. Shut up then

And by the way, I happen to really like the Sinclair Broadcasting affiliate in Baltimore. They are more even handed and professional than the others.


36 posted on 08/02/2017 1:41:38 PM PDT by cyclotic (Trump tweets are the only news source you can trust.)
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