Over the weekend, Deadspin published this article and video discussing the Sinclair Broadcast Group. The group owns roughly 200 television stations across the country, has recently been under heavy criticism after the video circulated with dozens of stations reading the same script criticizing so-called “fake news” stories.
This is a monster story, but not really one that should surprise many considering how conglomerated the media landscape has become. John Oliver discussed this on his show Last Week Tonight months ago, and commented on it today as it has resurfaced since the Deadspin post, calling the group a “brainwashed cult”.
So, here’s something that stood out to me this weekend, after looking through the link that Deadspin provided, which lists which stations are owned and operated by this media group:
One of those stations, WICS, is based in Springfield, and owned by this group. Their affiliate, WICD, is a station that broadcasts to Champaign, Urbana, and Danville. This is information that’s being broadcast in this community.
If you haven’t watched the video, you should. You can see it below.
Donald Trump has defended Sinclair today.
If you’re interested in learning more about this Sinclair Broadcast Group’s recent activity, look no further than this New York Times article about their intents to purchase Tribune Media, which has been a battle with the Justice Department for many months.
Top photo is a screenshot from Deadspin’s video.