Sinclair Chairman Claims Entire Print Media Has No Credibility

[tenderfoot]

David Smith, the executive chairman of Sinclair Broadcast Group, said he dislikes and fundamentally distrusts the print media, which he believes “serves no real purpose.” In emails to New York, Smith said that print — as in newspapers and magazines — is a reality-distorting tool of leftists. Print media, he said, has “no credibility” and no relevance.

“I must tell that in all the 45 plus years I have been in the media business I have never seen a single article about us that is reflective of reality especially in today’s world with the shameful political environment and generally complete lack of integrity. Facts and truth have been lost for a long time and likely to never return,” Smith said.

<snip>

New York communicated with Smith in mid-November, after requesting an interview. “Appreciate the interest in your wanting to do a story but we don’t talk to the print media as a general principal as we find them to be so devoid of reality and serving no real purpose. Have a great holiday,” Smith said in response. Later, he added, “Again my experience has consistently been that even with an interview it’s of no consequence in terms of spin, facts or distortion, political bent etc. The print media is so left wing as to be meaningless dribble which accounts for why the industry is and will fade away. Just no credibility. see ya.”

For a pundit or a far-right politician, statements like Smith’s have become expected in the Trump era. But from one of the most powerful media executives in the country, they’re not. “The media” is typically talked about as though it’s a monolith, with no distinctions made between news or opinion, reporters or columnists, anchors or commentators. To cast doubt over certain swaths of the industry, then, is to risk unsettling whatever faith is left in the whole gamut. And if TV is the only pure and honest news source, what about the websites of TV networks, like NBC.com or CNN.com, where reporting that is technically considered print appears? Or what about TV reporting that’s informed by stories that appeared in the New York Times or the Washington Post? Is any information that doesn’t come directly from Sinclair or from the mouth of David Smith himself suspect? Perhaps that’s the idea.

When New York asked Smith if he’d be open to meeting off the record at least, he replied, “I have also learned that there is no such thing as off the record. Bye.

more: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/04/sinclair-chairman-entire-print-media-has-no-credibility.html

[imanamerican63]

1. They want to control all media!

This is called censorship!

[no_hypocrisy]

2. Rupert Murdock will really appreciate this recognition . . . .

1. New York Post
2. Wall Street Journal
3. A few publications in the U.K.

[NoMoreRepugs]

3. I am at a loss for words. David Smith is NUTZ.

[HopeAgain]

4. He sees value only in propaganda

Will free speech itself eventally bring an end to free speech? I think we are going to see it tested like never before...

[Freethinker65]

5. Wow

[Sherman A1]

6. Seriously

This is the best he has?

[lunasun]

7. The people's heads he is trying to get in to don't or can't read . + 1 minute or less attention span

?itok=bvR1Pyhy

[NotASurfer]

8. Here's the translation

It's fake news if:

- it reports what someone actually says and does,
- it checks facts before dissemination,
- it vets sources, and
- it corroborates information by using multiple independent sources

You know...journalism?

[UCmeNdc]

9. The fairness doctrine of the United States Federal Communications Commission

Bring Back the:

The fairness doctrine of the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC), introduced in 1949, was a policy that required the holders of broadcast licenses both to present controversial issues of public importance and to do so in a manner that was—in the FCC's view—honest, equitable, and balanced.

The main agenda for the doctrine was to ensure that viewers were exposed to a diversity of viewpoints. In 1969 the United States Supreme Court upheld the FCC's general right to enforce the fairness doctrine where channels were limited. But the courts did not rule that the FCC was obliged to do so.[4] The courts reasoned that the scarcity of the broadcast spectrum, which limited the opportunity for access to the airwaves, created a need for the doctrine.

[Corgigal]

10. You're blowing it up.

The cat is out of the bag, and you failed. You needed to be shady, quietly.

Oh well, we all know what you guys have your hooks into. Guess you can run the local news for free. You're only fooling the people already in the feedback loop. Some of us need actual facts to live our lives, we can skip your commentary.

Boris ? Seriously? Hell, the tv show the Americans wouldn't even put that stupidity in their script.
.

[ProfessorGAC]

11. Speaking Of Boris

Did you see the John Oliver bit where he is discussing that Boris is only 35 years old? Pretty funny set of lines.

And on that subject, what the heck happened to that guy to make him such a "get of my lawn" type at 35 years old?

[Corgigal]

12. I happened to see it.

He's probably just some 3rd rate actor, screen name Boris. To please the pay masters.

He looks late 50s, but that Mano act might age you.

[TheBlackAdder]

13. Buy that man a GQ or something. He looks like his last makeover was in 1977.