Jay Evensen
  • Front Page
  • Opinions
  • Second Thoughts
  • Portfolio
  • Awards
  • About

If Sinclair has evidence of 'fake news,' let's hear it

4/3/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
Viewers of the nearly 200 television stations owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, including Channel 2 in the Salt Lake market, probably didn’t think much recently when they saw news anchors in promotional spots saying something like, “…we’re concerned about the troubling trend of irresponsible, one sided news stories plaguing our country.”

But if they were paying attention, they may have heard echoes from the White House when the anchors went on to say, “More alarming, some media outlets publish these same fake stories… stories that just aren’t true, without checking facts first.”

“Fake stories.” There’s that phrase that has become virtually meaningless in public discourse today, other than to identify something someone didn’t like to hear — all while, like a silent, freedom-eating bacteria, eroding faith in almost everything people hear.

​The promo didn’t get specific about the identities 
of “some media outlets.”

But then the anchors went on to say something like, “Unfortunately, some members of the media use their platforms to push their own personal bias and agenda to control ‘exactly what people think’…”

Again, no specifics were offered; no context with which to understand who is attempting such mind control. But since this was a local television station, primarily devoted to reporting local news, one could assume the reference was to other local news outlets.

This was followed by the anchors insisting their station was dedicated to “factual reporting,” and asking viewers to let them know if they ever “fall short” of that goal.

People rarely watch more than one station in one market at a time, so the context of all this was missing. Until, that is, CNN’s Brian Stelter broke the news that Sinclair had instructed anchors at its stations nationwide to read the promo. That’s when the picture came into focus. This was a media behemoth with an agenda — one that, CNN reported, makes many of its employees feel uneasy.  

The above script was transcribed by thinkprogress, based on a promo that aired on a Sinclair station in Seattle. But it could have come from almost any market in the country, including this one.

Deadspin.com soon published a video mashup of anchors nationwide saying the same thing, over and over. Watching it, I couldn’t help hearing an old journalism professor of mine in my head. “Follow the money,” he was saying.

In this case, it’s worth noting Sinclair is seeking federal approval to acquire Tribune Media, owners of an additional 42 stations in 33 markets.

A year ago, the New York Times reported that Sinclair’s top executive invited Trump’s appointee to head the FCC to company headquarters in an effort to get him to ease up on regulations that might come in the way of the company’s expansion plans.

Not insignificantly, the president tweeted Tuesday that “’The “Fakers’ at CNN, NBC, ABC & CBS” were worried about competition from Sinclair; a reference, no doubt, to the flap over these promos. Sounds like he’s pleased with Sinclair.

For its part, Sinclair issued a statement responding to the criticism, saying in part, “The promos served no political agenda, and represented nothing more than an effort to differentiate our award-winning news programming from other, less reliable sources of information.”

It referenced a Monmouth University poll that found 77 percent of Americans believe fake news is reported occasionally.

The statement also noted, correctly, that the promos refer to the sharing of “biased and false news” on social media, but seemed to imply social media was the thrust of the scripts.

It wasn’t. Mind control by “some members of the media,” and outlets that don’t check facts were far more attention grabbing.

Alliance for a Better Utah, a non-profit watchdog, blasted KUTV for the promos, saying, “It’s extremely concerning that our local news is being co-opted for political purposes.”
That goes to the heart of what ought to bother Americans.

I get that a news outlet would like to position itself as better than all the rest. Promotion is a necessary part of any business, and few businesses are as competitive as this one.

But an editorial in the Orange County Register, itself a conservative-leaning paper, said it best when it noted the script, “specifically calls out everyone else that reports the news in this country with the apparent exception of Sinclair as publishers of ‘fake news.’”

That’s a confusing charge in an age when the Internet and the airways are cluttered with news in various forms and when, like it or not, mainstream outlets still provide the most reliable and trustworthy information.

You want fact checking? Come to our newsroom any day of the week and watch people work.

Or perhaps Sinclair has specific outlets and specific examples in mind. “If the company has that news, then report it,” the Register said. Amen to that.
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Search this site


    Like what you read here?

      Please subscribe below, and we'll let you know when there is a new opinion.

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    Picture

    The author

    Jay Evensen is the Senior Editorial Columnist of the Deseret News. He has nearly 40 years experience as a reporter, editor and editorial writer in Oklahoma, New York City, Las Vegas and Salt Lake City. He also has been an adjunct journalism professor at Brigham Young and Weber State universities.

    Archives

    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012

    Categories

    All
    Campaign 2012
    Congress
    Crime
    Culture
    Iran
    Oil And Gas
    Poverty
    Steroids
    Taxes
    Utah
    Washington
    World Events
    World Events

    Links

    Deseret News
    Newslink
    Marianne Evensen's blog

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.