Sinclair Broadcast Group solicits its news directors for its political fundraising efforts
Source: Washington Post
Sinclair Broadcast Group solicits its news directors for its political fundraising efforts
By Paul Farhi farhip@washpost.com February 10 at 3:25 PM
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The nations largest TV station owner is gearing up to fight for deregulation, and it wants some of its own newsroom managers to join the effort. ... Sinclair Broadcast Group is asking its executives including the news directors at its many stations to contribute to its political action committee, a move that journalism ethics experts say is highly unusual and troubling. ... "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 an employee solicitation letter from David Amy, the vice chairman of Sinclair and chairman of its political-action committee.
Sinclair, based in the Baltimore suburb of Hunt Valley, is already the largest station owner in the country, with 173 outlets. It is poised to become even larger with its pending $3.9 billion purchase of Chicago-based Tribune Media, which owns or operates 42 stations in such cities as New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.
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Major TV news outlets such as ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News and NBC say they prohibit their journalists from contributing to political parties, candidates or causes, and dont ask them to chip in to the company's PAC. The prohibition is aimed at eliminating the perception of partisanship by journalists. ... "Given that tradition, Sinclair's policy violates every standard of conduct that has existed in newsroom for the past 40 or 50 years," said Lewis Friedland, a journalism professor at the University of Wisconsin and a former TV news producer. "I've never seen anything like this. They certainly have the right to do it, but it's blatantly unethical."
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During the 2016 campaign, Sinclair controlled by the founding Smith family was criticized for reportedly ordering its many local stations to air news stories favorable to Donald Trump on a mandatory, or must-run basis. Sinclair stations in battleground states aired far more interviews with Trump and his surrogates than those featuring his rival, Hillary Clinton; Sinclair officials said the Trump campaign was more accessible to Sinclairs reporters than was Clinton or her surrogates. It said Clinton's campaign was offered the same number of interview opportunities as Trump but chose not to participate.
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Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/sinclair-broadcast-group-solicits-its-news-directors-for-its-political-fundraising-efforts/2018/02/10/0e3d8a08-0c54-11e8-8b0d-891602206fb7_story.html
Hat tip, DCRTV.com Mailbag:
The Washington Post is reporting that Sinclair Broadcast Group has a political action committee (aka PAC) to lobby the FCC on deregulation policy: The nations largest TV station owner is gearing up to fight for deregulation, and it wants some of its own newsroom managers to join the effort. Sinclair Broadcast Group is asking its executives including the news directors at its many stations to contribute to its political action committee, a move that journalism ethics experts say is highly unusual and troubling. "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 an employee solicitation letter from David Amy, the vice chairman of Sinclair and chairman of its political-action committee. Conceivably, Ajit Pai should he decide to run for elected office as he is being urged by Republicans, could receive money from the PAC. Paul Farhi explains: www.washingtonpost.com (2/10/18)
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