The weekend revelations about the transformation of the Sinclair Broadcast Group in the United States into the Pravda of American television has taken some people by surprise (not least, because many thought that Fox News was fulfilling that role). However the family-owned cable business, with its legion of local TV stations across the country, has been moving in that direction for decades. As CNN reported at the start of March, the ultra-conservative management of the company has issued instructions to all of its affiliates, insisting that their anchors promote a conspiratorial script about “fake news”, effectively in support of President Donald Trump. The sports and news site, Deadspin, has put together a nice video of the end product.
Sinclair Broadcast Group And The Infamous Fake News Script
AN SIONNACH FIONN 
Media continues to undergo death by a thousands cuts. Did Sinclair execs really think no one would pick up on this?
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Isn’t that the truth. It’s ironic CNN is bringing the story with their sordid past. It just, once again, shows how the media have turned into pure propaganda organs of whoever pays their bill.
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Sinclair has flown under the radar for many years, so they probably thought they’d get away with it. Federal approval for new acquisitions has put it under the spotlight for the first time in a long time.
To be fair, corporate scripts/promos like this are fairly common among affiliates in the US, as I understand it. However they usually steer clear of the newsrooms and if they do it is usually a focus on shared fluff stories (rollerskating dogs and the like).
This was much more partisan and in very obvious Trump-like language.
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You’re right that the scripted material is usually fluff stories. This takes it to a whole new low, however.
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Exactly, I do think the role of the Pravda switches now depending on who is in charge, however. Fox for the ReTurds and CNN for the DemoRats.
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The treatment of Phil Donahue was disgraceful. Today he would be considered a liberal martyr but back then most of the media lined up behind the Iraq invasion and turned their backs on him. And few have made an effort to apologise for when they turned on the lone – and sane – voice in the political wilderness post-9/11.
I noticed that Chris Matthews has made some attempt to defend the US media position viz. the War on Terror in recent years, trying to claim that not everyone was behind the Iraq invasion which is just bollocks. 90% of the mainstream media were cheerleaders for the actions and the 10% were sidelined. Like Donanhue.
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It was a way for them to remove the last of the real reporters. They set the tone for the new generation to do as they are told.
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