July 15, 2024
In recent weeks, Sinclair has been targeted numerous times for engaging in what is supposed to be a core tenet of journalism – daring to tell the difficult story that challenges the status quo. The First Amendment does not distinguish, by design, between viewpoints. It protects all journalists, and for good reason. The truth is often uncomfortable, but those who are willing to tell it should not be vilified.
Rather than conducting their own investigations and digging deep into challenging issues, many news outlets and self-proclaimed “journalists” are content with criticizing those that they do not agree with. If these organizations truly embraced the tenets of good journalism, they would not try to silence other voices, but rather embrace them, seeing them not as hostiles but as colleagues that have chosen to tackle important issues. They may disagree, and they should feel free to voice that disagreement, but what has been done here goes far beyond that – Sinclair reporters were attacked for doing their job, reporting on stories that may be unpopular.
Despite these attacks on our reporting, Sinclair and our television stations remain committed to informing our viewers through accountability reporting and coverage of pressing community issues including public safety, public education, and overall quality of life. Our stations have been recognized with thousands of national, regional, and local awards, including Edward R. Murrow, IRE, SBJ, National Headliner and Emmy Awards for their work, and our goal is to provide accurate and timely coverage that transcends race, ethnicity, and political affiliation, reflecting the diversity and complexity of the communities we serve.
June 13, 2024
Recently a Wall Street Journal article, published on June 4, 2024, made national headlines and was reported widely across a range of media outlets. You can view the original article here: Wall Street Journal.
Like dozens of other media outlets, we aired a segment on the Wall Street Journal story. Here is a link to our coverage: The National Desk.
As a result, some media outlets have accused Sinclair of attempting to deceive its audience or push a political agenda. This is outrageous and offensive.
There are two criticisms of our story. First, that it is politically biased, and second, that Sinclair provided scripts for its anchors to read in introducing the story.
With respect to the first, Sinclair has produced several stories on the advanced age of lawmakers, similar to what was addressed in the Wall Street Journal piece. Sinclair has covered this story from both sides of the political aisle. Here are examples from recent coverage of both Republican and Democrats: Link Link Link Link Link Link Our goal at Sinclair is to provide balanced and comprehensive coverage of news that is relevant to our audience.
Any insinuation otherwise is unfounded and undermines the integrity and hard work of our dedicated teams.
For full transparency, we have included the entire script from our coverage of the Wall Street Journal article as it ran on our air, below. We invite you to assess for yourself if bias is present in the coverage.
With respect to the second criticism, this is a common practice in the industry. Affiliates often use a preproduced script for a package that has been provided by a different media source.
When a local station receives footage from a national outlet (i.e. from CNN News Source, a network like ABC/CBS/NBC or a Washington DC bureau, etc.) an intro script for the toss (the handoff between the anchor at the desk and the reporter in the video package) is often provided by the national outlet along with the video footage. In this instance, Sinclair’s The National Desk/Washington DC Bureau produced the package which was provided to affiliates.
This common industry practice ensures local station anchors can accurately introduce the footage, because the footage was not filmed or produced by the local station. The video below demonstrates this practice employed by other, non-Sinclair stations.
Additionally, this approach conserves resources, allowing local producers in each affiliate market more time for newsgathering instead of rewriting national package intros at each station.
This practice is employed at hundreds of stations around the country, by dozens of station groups, and is NOT specific to Sinclair. The intro script which has been the subject of criticism consisted of just two sentences.
For full transparency, we have included the entire script as it ran on air, below.
FULL SCRIPT (TEASE/INTRO/PKG SCRIPT)
((TEASE))
The President’s mental fitness is again called into question in a damaging new report. I’m Matt Galka in Washington and I’ll explain, coming up.
((ANCHOR INTRO))
The Wall Street Journal is out with reporting calling into question the mental fitness of President Joe Biden. As National Correspondent Matt Galka tells us, the issue could be an election decider.
((Matt Galka))
President Joe Biden is slipping behind closed doors, relying heavily on note cards during high level meetings, and waffling between a man with command of the room to someone who has trouble with details.
[[Graphic of WSJ Journal article on screen]] That’s the focus of a damaging Wall Street Journal article citing interviews with 45 people over several months, characterized as mostly being critical Republicans but also some Democrats.
Republicans have tried to use Biden’s age against him to cast him as a man unfit for office.
((Sen. Ron Johnson/R-Wisconsin))
“He is obviously mentally declining, and physically declining, I get that he’s an 81-year-old man. It’s sad to see that in any human being. But this is the President of the United States, and he refuses to acknowledge it,”
The White House called some of the accounts in the article false claims with other Democrats saying it was a hit piece.
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy went on record saying the President “was not the same person” he was when he served as Vice President.
California Democrat Jim Costa met with Biden this week and said he was sharp. He says McCarthy’s comments are different than what he’s said in the past.
((Rep. Jim Costa/D-California ))
“He time after time commented upon how on top of the game the President was in negotiating these difficult issues. Now to say something else is more of the problems that Kevin McCarthy had in maintaining his credibility in his own conference that resulted in his downfall.”
Biden’s supporters, including his wife, are quick to point out Donald Trump isn’t much younger than the current President.
((Jill Biden/First Lady of the United States – May 29th))
“Donald Trump’s going to be 78, and Joe’s 81, they’re basically the same age. But this election isn’t about age, it’s about character.”
((Matt Galka))
Multiple polls show Biden’s age is a significant concern for voters leading up to November’s election. He’d be 86 at the end of a potential 2nd term.
Reporting in Washington, I’m Matt Galka
We hope this addresses any concerns you may have about our coverage. Our goal is to provide accurate and timely coverage that transcends race, ethnicity, and political affiliation, reflecting the diversity and complexity of the communities we serve.
If you have outstanding questions, please reach out to us at [email protected]
