Two Sinclair Stations in Maine Under Scrutiny for Editorial Segments [Pro-Trump]

Adweek/TVSpy.com ^ | 8/1/17 | Stephanie Tsoflias

[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.

[SoFloFreeper]

Bottom line? A TV station runs regular segments that might show Trump and/or Trump's political positions in a POSITIVE light, and the FAKENEWS media is angry.

If you watch, listen, or read MOST local news, you will see nothing but a re-hash of CNN reporting. That filthy biased network has spread like a cancer throughout the nation, getting business agreements with tv stations and radio too all over. I have seen CNN crap on my local ABC and FOX stations here in Miami.

Anyway, now a company is telling its local affiliates to NOT be a slave to the Big Media bias, and the company gets attacked.

Not good.

[Red Badger]

[Cen-Tejas]

Exactly, this is nothing more than The Left putting forth a local cry baby whiner to complain publicly. Conservative media is advancing in a LIBERAL market place and they don’t like it.

Go Sindlair!

[Timpanagos1]

[Larry Lucido]

I never owned a Sinclair broadcasting station. I owned a Sinclair receiving station, though.

[Larry Lucido]

Very futuristic looking.

[LIConFem]

"A politically independent viewer, Marc McCutcheon, described the experience...

Yeah, right. Pull the other one...

[Steve_Seattle]

"There was no rebuttal, no context, no alternate point of view – a situation he found concerning."

He is describing the normal situation in the news business. How many local newspapers routinely run rebuttals to their own editorials?

[ptsal]

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.

Guess, I have missed the conservative rebuttals on NBC/CBS/ABC/CNN.     RHINO rebuttals do NOT count.

[Steve_Seattle]

"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."

The Sinclair-owned station in Seattle is also the ABC affiliate and carries the national ABC news shows, including the Sunday morning shows, not to mention the ABC entertainment programming.

The local news people are able to exercise editorial discretion over the stories they select, and how to present those stories, even if they are forced to run the national Sinclair pieces. So a variety of perspectives IS presented.

[Steve_Seattle]

"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."

So, they would be raising a stink if a pro-Democrat company was trying to buy up more stations?

[mountn man]

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.”

Politically independent my @$$.

This snowflake is crying for a safe space.

With the OVERWHELMING amount of liberal bias, there is no rebuttal, no context, no alternate point of view.

A situation I find concerning.”

[Dr. Sivana]

There was no rebuttal, no context, no alternate point of view – a situation he found concerning.

The "rebuttal" is on EVERY other over-the-air station, 90% of cable channels, a huge chunk of the Internet, 90% of the newspapers and 100% of the wire services, the NPR stations on the radio dial, and 90% of the news magazines.

Poor little buttercup.

[Harpotoo]

No problem, once they get their new stations they’ll be as anti-Trump as the rest:-)

[Impala64ssa]

Here's the 64 parked in front of the "world famous" Spring Hill, FL dinosaur. It was originally a Sinclair gas station, opened in 1964, now a repair shop.

I remember at the NY World's Fair the Sinclair pavilion giving away bars of green soap shaped into their dinosaur logo.

[Red Badger]

Memories.....................

[Steve_Seattle]

Sinclair has ownership of these stations but - apart from these editorial segments - it does not create its own programming, and the stations it owns are typically affiliated with one of the major networks like ABC or NBC. Sinclair-owned stations will thus show the same national news content as the network they are affiliated with.

[Mogger]

I am a Sinclair descendant, as I am sure many other Freepers are.

I haven't a Sinclair ancestor in Trump's direct line yet, but I wouldn't be surprised to find several as he is basically 1/2 Scottish.

[Vlad The Inhaler]

See that black thing in your hand that looks like a 1990's telephone?

It's a remote control for the TV.

It changes the channel and adjusts the volume.

USE IT !!!

[Vlad The Inhaler]

See that black thing in your hand that looks like a 1990's telephone?

It's a remote control for the TV.

It changes the channel and adjusts the volume.

USE IT !!!