Yep, we’ve probably all seen Sinclair Broadcasting’s Script for Stations or portions or variants of it.
But it’s always worth repeating.
Sinclair Broadcast Group, the owner & operator of over 190 TV stations in the U.S., forced its news anchors to read a promo script about the “troubling trend of irresponsible, one-sided news stories plaguing our country.”
Sinclair regularly sends video segments to the stations it owns. These are referred to as “must-runs.”
Gotta love a healthy mix of balanced news media, eh?
And for those interested, here is a (localized) version of Sinclair Broadcasting’s Script that was sent to all of their stations:
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.
Originally published by deadspin.com
From their article:
CNN’s Brian Stelter broke the news that Sinclair Broadcast Group, owner or operator of nearly 200 television stations in the U.S., would be forcing its news anchors to record a promo about “the troubling trend of irresponsible, one sided news stories plaguing our country.”