While many parent corporations that own television networks, cable news or local stations do make political contributions through their PACs, its a practice that I find troubling since the reputation of a news organization depends in part on its ability to say that it is approaching stories from an impartial vantage point, without partisan bias, said Indira Lakshmanan, the ethics chair at the Poynter Institute. How Sinclair Broadcasting puts a partisan tilt on trusted local news - PBS As always, we want to thank those of you who have contributed to the PAC in the past and encourage you to give again this year, wrote David Amy, who chairs the PAC and is a Sinclair vice chairman. There is no corporate pressure to participate and no consequence for not participating. Our teams make the critical difference in how we perform and their skills, talents and determination separate us from our competitors. Maryland-based Sinclair Broadcast Group was fined a record $48 million by the FCC, the agency announced Wednesday. Susan Wojcicki, a major donor to Wikipedia and CEO of YouTube,donated only $8,000through Google Netpac. Sinclair Broadcast Group Supports Local Charities in TV Stations Under the direction of its ambitious corporate parent, the stations news operations have taken a subtle but noticeable turn to the right. {mosads}Please take the time to evaluate the importance that the Sinclair PAC can have towards benefiting our company and the needs of the industry as a whole, reads the solicitation letter fromDavid Amy, the vice chairman of Sinclair and chairman of the PAC. Charles Schumer of New York and Brian Schatz of Hawaii pocketed $10,000, the most the PAC could legally give. Mr. Epshteyn most recently served as Special Assistant to The President and Assistant Communications Director for Surrogate Operations for the Executive Office of President Trump. The segments will have a billboard, meaning theyre sponsored, but will not be sponsored content, a Sinclair spokesperson said. We believe our employees knowledge, dedication, and ingenuity may lead us to newer heights. TheCenter for Public Integrityis a nonprofit investigative news organization focused on inequality in the U.S. We do not accept advertising or charge people to read our work. Comcast, which owns NBC and MSNBC, donated more to federal-level Republican causes during the past four election cycles, largely favoring the right during the 2015-2016 election cycle. The Company owns, operates and/or provides services to 185 television stations in 86 markets; is a leading local news provider in the country; owns multiple national networks; and has TV stations affiliated with all the major broadcast networks and owns and/or operates 21 RSN brands. Wash. Post: Sinclairs Stations Have Been Used To Attack Democrats Or To Boost Republicans. The Washington Post reported in 2014 that after Sinclair purchased Washingtons ABC affiliate WJLA-TV, the channel took a subtle but noticeable turn to the right. The Post added that Sinclairs stations have been used to attack Democratic candidates or to boost Republicans, and on the eve of 2012 presidential elections, Sinclair stations in several battlegrounds states aired a corporate-produced half-hour news special that criticized then-President Barack Obama and his policies. 2023 Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. All rights reserved. For Mr. Epshteyn was a surrogate and Senior Advisor to the Trump Campaign, where he managed messaging. A prolific Democratic donor, Allen last year gave $20,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, as well as donations totaling thousands to the campaigns of a number of Democratic. For example, he claimed last month that former FBI Director James Comey's testimony on Capitol Hill was more damaging to Hillary Clinton and former Attorney General Loretta Lynch than to the president. His well-documented views were notsecret. I found these figures wanting. The missive from Sinclair exec Amy connects Sinclairs policy preferences to the activities of the PAC, which sends contributions to politicians. Subscribe to Heres the Deal, our politics A Trump spokesman said the deal included the interviews running across every affiliate but that no money was exchanged between the network and the campaign. But Sinclair is raising concerns among. I think its a cool trend that you have news sites with names like Axios and Circa that almost sound like think tanks. such as textbooks, contact OpenSecrets: info[at]crp.org. From bad to worse: Student misbehavior rises further since return of in-person Federal judge rules Pennsylvania school district must allow After School Satan Two hospitals may have violated federal law in denying woman an emergency McConnell insists hes sitting out debt talks to disbelief. Sinclairs content is delivered via multiple-platforms, including over-the-air, multi-channel video program distributors, and digital and streaming platforms. In one instance, the company required stations to run a weekly commentary called Bottom Line with Boris presented by a former senior advisor to President Donald Trump.. Frederick Smith, who runs the billion dollar Sinclair media empire that once offered to do anything for Trump, must not have meant with cash, donating $6,800 to the GOP and $5,800 to Democratic Sen. ChuckSchumer. Sinclair has also been accused of imposing a top-down conservative editorial stance on its stations. President Trumps tweet dismissing opposition to Sinclairs destruction of local news shows how big media uses its money and power to influence our elected officials, said former FCC commissioner and Common Cause adviser, Michael Copps, in a statement. The FCC must block this merger [with Tribune Media.]. contributions to federal candidates, and contributions from individual donor data, which were released by the Federal Election Commission on March 22, . Sinclair's size, rightwing politics and close connections to Donald Trump's White House are starting to attract attention. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. However, the move breaks with the rules set in most major newsrooms, which ban journalists from making political contributions or to give to their companies PACs to help prevent a perception of bias in reporting. Contributions by Source of Funds Sinclair Broadcast Group Affiliates i Cycle: 2020 Showing 1 to 3 of 3 entries Contributions to 527s are not included in the Individuals, PACs, Soft (Indivs), or Soft (Orgs) columns, so the sum of these columns may not equal the Total column. The vein has been exploited during . But a vast majority of their money has been funneled to Republican causes, including the Republican National Committee and a Mitt Romney fund-raising committee in 2012, according to Federal Election Commission disclosures. Comet is the ONLY broadcast network for sci-fi fans. Billionaire Paul Singer, who claimed, post the CNN-Discovery merger, that his activism brought the deal about, balanced things out with his $1.7 million. Our commitment to our viewers is to go beyond podium, beyond the rhetoric. Located in a very diverse region rich in assets, not only geographically (relief, climate), but also economic and human, the Lyon-Grenoble Auvergne-Rhne-Alpes is the latest INRAE centre to be created. The company had originally planned to air the documentary in full, The Times reported, but pressure from advertisers and shareholders led it to run only excerpts during a program on the election. Sign up for our newsletter to track moneys influence on U.S. elections and public policy. Except for the Revolving Door section, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License by OpenSecrets.org. NEW YORK The $3.9 billion buyout of Tribune Media by Sinclair collapsed Thursday, ending a bid to create a massive media juggernaut that could have rivaled the reach of Fox News. Screenshot this, because you have a defamation lawsuit on your hands advised one user, while countless others did just that and snapped screenshots of the misleading photo. The station later issued an apology on their Twitter account. From the July 14 article: Twitter was set ablaze on Friday night when news station KBOI 2 News posted a story about an attempted robbery in Idaho. [HBO, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, 7/2/17]. Kushner said the agreement with Sinclair, which owns television stations across the country in many swing states and often packages news for their affiliates to run, gave them more access to Trump and the campaign, according to six people who heard his remarks. NEXTGEN Broadcast, also known as ATSC 3.0, offers innovative new features to enhance and expand your broadcast viewing experience. Thank you. Im a fan. ONE Media 3.0 is developing, building, and deploying the Next Generation Broadcast Platform that enables broadcasters to reimagine use of their television channels. A comprehensive guide to the relationship between Sinclair Broadcast Craig Newmark has donated close to $100 million to journalism schools, content moderation research, new digital media outlets and journalists, as have Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, and big. Then, just days before the election, Sinclair aired parts of a documentary critical of the anti-Vietnam War activities of John Kerry, the Democratic nominee. If you factor in employee donations, its a different story: Time Warner workers primarily executives overwhelmingly prefer to support Democrats. While Fox News broadcasts lean conservative, the PAC of its holding company, 21st Century Fox, donates liberally to Democrats. 05/01/23 2:58 PM EDT, Article From the May 25 New York magazine article: Last night, Montana residents who tuned into their NBC affiliate, KECI, would not have heard the now infamous audio of Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs being roughed up by GOP congressional candidate Greg Gianforte. Learn more about Friends of the NewsHour. No surprise, Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan collectivelygave over $2.5 million, mostly to Republicans. TBD is the first multiscreen TV network to bring premium internet-first content to TV homes across America. Get a weekly dive into inequality in America with our Watchdog newsletter delivered to your inbox. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window). Sinclair Made Deal With Trump Campaign For Straighter Coverage. In December, Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner said that the Trump campaign struck a deal with Sinclair Broadcast Group during the campaign to try and secure better media coverage, according to Politico. [Media Matters, 2/13/17]. The names of the super PACs (Win Red, Dirt Road, Fair Fight, Follow the North Star, Security is Strength) are almost comical, even if the totals are gobsmacking. After yet another mass shooting, the national debate over gun policy renews. It was a standard package, but an extended package, extended story where youd hear more directly from candidate on the issue instead of hearing all the spin and all the rhetoric, Livingston said. THE HILL 1625 K STREET, NW SUITE 900 WASHINGTON DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 TEL | 202-628-8503 FAX. Sinclair Outlet Circa News Regularly Pushes Pro-Trump Stories. Only 60 people in media leadership had donated more than$2,000 to a political candidate since 2019. Privacy Policy. Sinclair Broadcast Group executives said they will bring resources and stability to KOMO TV and 19 other television stations they'll get by acquiring Seattle-based Fisher Communications. That leaves $1 billion unaccounted for. [The New York Times, 5/3/17]. [The Daily Beast, 7/12/17]. 09/27/22 2:08 PM EDT, A short history of the right-wing politics of Sinclair Broadcasting, Filings from the Dominion lawsuit against Fox left breadcrumbs for the Smartmatic defamation case ahead, Blaze TV's Steve Deace: Peter Thiel is a homosexual corporatist who won't fund Ron DeSantis because he's actually serious about this groomer stuff, Washington Post Fact Checker compares Biden correctly pointing out deficit reduction during his administration to Trump-style propaganda, At NewFronts, advertisers should be wary of Americano Media's hateful and dangerous brand, Steve Bannon calls the Murdochs demonic, A Sinclair-owned Nashville station pushed right-wing narratives in response to the Covenant School shooting, Most Georgia local TV stations have buried Herschel Walker's tax and residency scandal, Sinclair Broadcast Group is justifying Republicans' despicable migrant flights. Skip to Navigation; . This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. The Post noted that Sinclair-owned stations and its Washington bureau scored 15 exclusive interviews with Trump in a one year period, that they would positively frame questions for Trump surrogates, that a Sinclair executive and conservative commentator who appears on Sinclair stations regularly criticized Clinton or highlighted positions favorable to Trump in his on-air commentaries, and that news stories and features favorable to Trump or that challenged Clinton were distributed to Sinclair stations on a must-run basis. From the December 22 article: A review of Sinclairs reporting and internal documents shows a strong tilt toward Trump. Trump tweeted Monday that it was funny to watch Fake News Networks criticizing Sinclair for being biased. Sinclair Broadcast Group /r/Politics is for news and discussion about U.S. politics. But Sinclair is not a fairly standard media company. Its a request that put employees in charge of editorial decisions in a compromising position, ethics experts say. Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day. A local Montana station bought by Sinclair in May refused to air audio of then-Republican Montana congressional candidate Greg Gianforte assaulting Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs, with its news director saying, The person that tweeted [Jacobs] and was allegedly body slammed is a reporter for a politically biased publication, according to New York magazine. Staffers at KOMO in Seattle and other Sinclair stations chipped in donations to the group a gesture of goodwill to partly make up for the lost $25,000. Full Measure is an award-winning, weekly national news program, focused on investigative, original, and accountability reporting. The Bally Sports RSNs serve as the TV home to more than half of all MLB, NHL and NBA teams in the US, and produce over 4,500 live local professional telecasts each year, in addition to a wide variety of locally produced sports events and programs. Top Sinclair officials have also helped fuel both Republican and Democratic campaigns, of late. For context, OpenSecrets reported that political spending in the 2020 election reached $14 billion, the most expensive election ever. Then, in 1848, the "Fond-Gillarde" gallery, which cut the siderite vein after 160m, was dug. Working At Sinclair Broadcast Group: Employee Reviews and Culture Spark is a self-service advertising solution for Streaming TV. After yet another mass shooting, the national debate over gun policy renews. [The New York Times, 5/3/17]. She owns The Atlantic, could still be the largest shareholder of Disney/ABCand funds many digital news nonprofits through the American Journalism Project, which her Emerson Collective helped to create. [PR Newswire, 4/17/17]. If . I dont see how this ends well. Sinclair said it had no knowledge of the arrangement, but the FCC said the programs violated rules against payola punditry. [The Washington Post, 9/16/14]. The index wasmore popular than anticipated. Sinclairs interest in funding political campaigns extended to soliciting PAC money in January from its news directors, the Washington Post reported in February. We want to support them and their efforts toensurea smooth repack that doesnt require any broadcaster to go off air for any period of time We need allies in Congress who understand the role of local television and who are willing to defend it in todays ever-changing landscape.. Our promise was to give all candidates an opportunity to voice their position share their position with our viewers. 1100 13th Street, NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20005 (202) 857-0044 Follow the money on gun rights and gun control groups. The most significant donation record of any media owner was Michael Bloomberg, who donated $140 million during his run for president. Msage Mine, Saint-Pierre-de-Msage, Grenoble, Isre, Auvergne-Rhne Spurred by the rapid proliferation of social media platforms, with questionable content,and a formerpresident who pummeled our free press repeatedly, its no wonder Americans are left wary and our information ecosystem is in shambles. Washington, Trumps presidential campaign received $1,000 from Bill Butler, Sinclairs vice president of programming, in 2016. All Rights Reserved. Even his wife, Clare Boothe Luce, herself a Republican member of Congress, chastised him publicly for his relentless coverage in Time of Barry Goldwaters GOP nomination for president. The results were surprising. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Sinclair National Sales provides advertisers the unique ability to reach viewers and potential customers on a single market, multiple market, and regional basis. Since its founding in 1971, the Sinclair Broadcast Group has come to own or operate nearly 200 television stations in some 100 markets covering more than 40 percent of American households. Look up your friends and patriotsat the FEC. 1996 - 2023 NewsHour Productions LLC. Contributions to 527s are not included in the Individuals, PACs, Soft (Indivs), or Soft (Orgs) columns, so the sum James Zelter, co-president and CIO of Apollo Global Management that owns Yahoo News, gave $35,900 to Republicansand $25,200 to Democrats. Marquee Sports Network brings together one of the most iconic sports franchises in the country with one of the largest television broadcasting companies to deliver unparalleled Cubs coverage. Some of their giving has been to Democrats, mostly for state and local races in Maryland. Subscribe to Here's the Deal, our politics newsletter. While election cycles are shown in charts as 1996, 1998, 2000 etc. HBOs John Oliver Highlighted The Conservative Agenda Sinclair Pushes On Its Affiliates. Free States mission is to provide the federal government, along with state and local agencies, a full suite of targeted digital marketing and advertising solutions to help government agencies communicate with the American public effectively and efficiently. The Washington Post reported in 2014 that Sinclair and its executives have been consistent financial contributors to Republican candidates. [The Washington Post, 9/16/14]. We do not believe these journalists are incompetent, so we are left to conclude that they are biased. The story claims that two alleged robbers arrived to find the doors of the bank locked. This is Sinclair, 'the most dangerous US company you've never heard of The lack of transparency in super PAC donations loomed as we scoured the FEC database. Amid growing political, legal and financial pressure, Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. late Tuesday revised its plan to broadcast a documentary critical of Sen. John Kerry's anti-Vietnam war activities. Kushner highlighted that Sinclair, in states like Ohio, reaches a much wider audience around 250,000 listeners than networks like CNN, which reach somewhere around 30,000. [The Washington Post, 12/22/16]. For the 2016 election cycle, Sinclairs PAC made $82,375 in donations to federal candidates. Reporters and anchors employed by Sinclair did not receive this same request for funds. Sinclair owns & operates, programs, or provides sales services to stations in the following markets Federal government could default as soon as June 1, Treasury Secretary Yellen warns, Get the best insights and analysis delivered to your inbox, 2,276 groups organized as super PACs have reported, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Sinclair Broadcast Group. Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, gave $500,000 mostly to Democrats. Search our Grenoble, Auvergne-Rhne-Alpes Catholic Directory database and connect with the best Churchs and other Catholic Directory Professionals in Grenoble, Auvergne-Rhne-Alpes. Cookie Notice To request permission for commercial use, please contactus. When it comes to political money, Sinclair-related contributions have generally skewed Republican for more than two decades with some notable exceptions, according to a Center for Public Integrity analysis of campaign finance data from the Federal Election Commission and nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. The federal government has fined TV broadcaster Sinclair $48 million, largely because of actions it took in its failed attempt to acquire smaller rival Tribune Media. They range from reports about its must run segments to morale at its Washington station WJLA. Saudi alfalfa sparks tension in Arizonas Sonoran Desert, Rice's departure brings relief to immigration advocates, Watch live: White House monkeypox response team holds briefing, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. The first workings began around 1820. To figure this out, we are in desperate need of a real-time database for super PAC spending,along with transparency on which media and platform owners fund lobbyists. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. It is nearly impossible to know where the money is spent,even if you can run down the roster of donors. Sinclair Broadcast Groups Long Form Sales Division is designed to provide a one-stop solution to paid programming across all Sinclair television stations. Washington, If the medium controls the message, then we are asking these questions to make out your character, media owners. Barry Diller, owner of The Daily Beast and Investopedia, gave $120,000. Inside Sinclair: What employees are saying about the controversy Comedian John Oliver aired a segment last year critical of what he considers the companys right-wing bent, such as cutting local news segments to instead run commentary from Sinclairs chief political analyst, Boris Epshteyn, a former Trump aide. What we know about the conservative media giant Sinclair Laurene Powell Jobs donated over $2 million. Data for the current election cycle was released by the Federal Election Commission on Did Elon Musk, one of the biggest donors to Wikipedia, reallygive only $40,000 to political leaders and causesin 2020-21? Right-Leaning Sinclair Broadcast Group Solicits Political Donations Romneys record received less scrutiny. During the 2015-2016 election cycle, two-thirds of Sinclair PACs donations to candidates, or $54,000, went to Republicans: Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan, Rep. John Shimkus of Illinois and Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri received the biggest checks $5,000 each. Craig Newmark has donated close to $100 million to journalism schools, content moderation research, new digital media outletsand journalists, as have Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, and big foundations like the Knight Foundation, Heritage Foundation, Open Markets Instituteand Pierre Omidyars Democracy Fund. 05/01/23 11:08 AM EDT, Article We are an employer of choice in the broadcast industry.