Popular Sociology

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The Real Fake News

 “Sinclair's Soldiers in Trump's War on Media” -- Deadspin, 2018, 1:38 -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fHfgU8oMSo

Americans like to think that their local news station is an independent venture, but the consolidation of the media has created a different reality. Sinclair Broadcasting is one of the largest media conglomerates in the television news market. They own and operate 193 stations across the country and unlike explicitly partisan stations (e.g., Fox News), Sinclair likes to maintain the illusion of political neutrality. However, they have a rather strong conservative position and a track record of making their affiliates read politically-loaded scripts on air. This is an example of one of these mandated memos. It is both fascinating and frightening to think of how corporations control information, and how political messages can be forced on familiar sources. Who runs your local news outlet, and do they try to exert their politics into broadcasted content? It may be worthwhile to find out!

From the video’s description: Anchors at Sinclair-owned local news station parrot a script pushing Trump talking points and “the troubling trend of irresponsible, one sided news stories plaguing our country.”