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Exclusive: Sinclair approaches Tribune Media about possible deal - sources

I have to wonder how Sinclair will fair in NYC and Connecticut. WPIX and WTIC might see ratings hits if the merger goes through.
 
Don CT said:
I have to wonder how Sinclair will fair in NYC and Connecticut. WPIX and WTIC might see ratings hits if the merger goes through.
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I think it'll only hurt ratings if Sinclair makes these stations non-stop political talk. If it's just an hour or two of local news a day, it won't matter
 
RadioPatrol said:
https://www.thedailybeast.com/sincl...cts-legal-experts-say?source=articles&via=rss

Now the Daily Beast is reporting about Sinclair's contract policies that employees had to sign plus the 40% penalty that's being reported here and why employees are scared to protest against their leaders like Scott Livingston and David Smith over these policies.
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Thats why its always good to read the contract before you sign. Most places have some type of penalty if you leave before your contract runs out, it would be surprising if there was a company that regularly didn't have penalties in a contract for breaking it.
 
http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/112604/ksnvs-nd-defends-sinclairs-promo

Mark Neerman the News Director at Sinclair's Las Vegas Operation defends the promo. Well lets wait for Neerman contract at Sinclair's Las Vegas to expire and see if he really believes what he is saying.

LAS VEGAS — The news director of Sinclair’s KSNV Las Vegas said the NBC affiliate felt the blowback from the viral Deadspin video, but much of it was apparently orchestrated by opponents of Sinclair’s pending merger with Tribune and the controversy was “already dying down.”

Following a BEA panel session Saturday in Las Vegas, Mark Neerman told this reporter that some viewers were “spooked” by the video montage that shows Sinclair anchors from around the country reading in unison the same corporate news promo.

Critics charged that the promo, with its swipe at other media, exposed the intention of Sinclair Executive Chairman David Smith to impose his conservative, pro-Trump agenda on Sinclair’s growing ranks of stations.

But Neerman didn’t see it that way. “If you look at the words, there is nothing wrong with it…. It was only a promo, for god’s sake,” he said.

“We had researched this exact copy with Magid and found that this copy really resonated. So, if you know that copy resonates, why don’t you use it?”

Neerman made no apology for the promo — “I believe in what we are doing — but said Sinclair may have learned a lesson. “When we do it again next time, we will probably give local stations more freedom to come up with the messaging.”

Judging from the many form emails, he said he felt the reaction to the promo was whipped up by those who want the FCC or the Justice Department to scuttle Sinclair’s merger with Tribune that will extend its reach to as much as 72% of the country and expand its portfolio to more than 220 stations.

“That’s not to say some of the criticism has not been from regular people,” he added.

The video sparked a debate at the station about journalistic ethics, he said. “There has been more talk about journalism than any of us can remember, and the realization of the importance of both sides of the story.”

He dismissed the notion that Sinclair is trying to replace local content with national content.

He said the national content is “miniscule” compared to the more than nine hours of local content that KSNV produces each day.

The only controversial content is the conservative commentary of Mark Hyman and Boris Epshteyn and it is clearly labeled as commentary, he said. “The rest is D.C. content like you’ll get from anyone else.”

Neerman also said he also OK with airing conservative commentary without counterbalancing liberal commentary, arguing that viewers get plenty of the liberal point of view from network programming.
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I understand why the News director is saying this its to keep his job and not get hit by the 40% penalty. Also its to negotiate tensions between Scott Livingston and his talent.
 
“We had researched this exact copy with Magid and found that this copy really resonated. So, if you know that copy resonates, why don’t you use it?”

I'm sure it resonated. That's also why the president uses it and repeats it over and over. It resonates.

But the question a news organization needs to ask itself is does that make it right for use in a news program? Are the newscasters appealing to voters or reporting the news? Is the process of appealing to viewers the same as appealing to voters? Do you only report stories that resonate with the viewers?

At the same time, a line may resonate with a portion of the viewers, and that same line will alienate another portion. When we're dealing with an environment where the population is equally divided, you have a 50% chance of pissing someone off.

To clarify what he meant by "Magid," we're talking about Frank Magid, who is a nationally known news consultant and marketing expert. He created the "Action News" concept 40 years ago. He comes up with techniques that can drive local news ratings. His approach inspired the quote "if it bleeds, it leads." Lots of police sirens, lots of people getting arrested, it all makes for compelling TV. But is it news? And is it appropriate to use those tactics to attack and demonize other reporters?
 
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RadioPatrol said:
I understand why the News director is saying this its to keep his job and not get hit by the 40% penalty.
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Or perhaps he does not see it the way certain critical segments of the population do... just a statement that they are looking to report the news without bias in the stories themselves.

In other words, it is simply possible that he believes in the message, agrees with his employer, and makes his comments without any hidden agenda.
 
bobjim45 said:
Thats why its always good to read the contract before you sign. Most places have some type of penalty if you leave before your contract runs out, it would be surprising if there was a company that regularly didn't have penalties in a contract for breaking it.
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Maybe it's different in TV news, but in all the radio contracts I've seen or negotiated (including my own :) ) there has never been a penalty for leaving. You leave, you may be subject to a non-compete and, of course, a cessation of benefits and certain confidentiality considerations.
 
DavidEduardo said:
Or perhaps he does not see it the way certain critical segments of the population do... just a statement that they are looking to report the news without bias in the stories themselves.
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Except that the statement isn't simply about THEIR reporting, but taking aim at OTHER stations' reporting. And the approach they're using is drawing from the approach used by the president. So they're basically using their news platform to promote his political and personal agenda.
 
RadioPatrol, what makes you think this news director wants to leave? What makes you think everybody who works for Sinclair wants to leave? Do you think they don't know the political bias of the management?
 
gr8oldies said:
RadioPatrol, what makes you think this news director wants to leave? What makes you think everybody who works for Sinclair wants to leave? Do you think they don't know the political bias of the management?
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When a station is sold to Sinclair what choice do they have? Quit and be out of work or stick with it with a new employer?
 
gr8oldies said:
RadioPatrol, what makes you think this news director wants to leave? What makes you think everybody who works for Sinclair wants to leave? Do you think they don't know the political bias of the management?
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Well I saw the part where one producer from Nebraska left one of the Sinclair owned stations over this recent ad but others that's still being determined. But I seen some articles where a news director and talent were being pressured at a different Sinclair station to say certain things plus a the penalty issue also was revealed. The reality here is I don't live in a Sinclair tv market for now. I'm just reading all the arguments that's been put out so far and they have been damning as the statement that's been released so far as in the argument Sinclair leaders more crazy than Roger Ailes has come into play.
 
Dateline St. Louis: Jamie Allman, a commentator on Sinclair’s ABC station KDNL, has resigned after saying on Twitter he wanted to sexually attack Parkland High survivor David Hogg with “a hot poker.”
 
Ccook55 said:
Here’s the latest stink-up, this time involving Sinclair chairman David D. Smith and some of his neighbors.
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https://splinternews.com/sinclair-boss-gives-his-most-evil-sounding-interview-ye-1825143498

And here is another controversy involving David D. Smith the leader of Sinclair.


http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/112705/sinclair-stations-release-video-attacking-cnn


And Now TV Newscheck has reported that Sinclair Owned stations were required to say stuff attacking CNN. At what point does Sinclair call on consultants for damage control.


NEW YORK (AP) — The Sinclair Broadcast Group attacked CNN on Tuesday for what it considers hypocrisy about the chain’s recent directive to local news anchors to read a message to viewers denouncing fake news.

The unusual squabble is an outgrowth of the attention given to Sinclair, owner of 193 local television stations across the country, and the extent to which the company orders its stations to air content reflecting a political point of view. For instance, the company distributes commentaries to its stations from Boris Epshteyn, a former aide to President Donald Trump.

In recent weeks, CNN and others have reported that Sinclair stations with news operations were compelled to have those local news personalities read a statement of concern about “the troubling trend of irresponsible, one-sided news stories plaguing the country,” although it gives no specific examples. The directive raised questions about media consolidation and its effect on the independence of local news.
On Tuesday, a link to a four-minute video specifically attacking CNN was posted atop the web sites of Sinclair’s stations. The video calls the network reprehensible for reporting on its directives, and said the “fake news” message was similar to warnings that CNN and its media reporter, Brian Stelter, have been giving for years. The video shows clips of Stelter’s reports.

“Is it really news that fake news is a concern in 2018, or is this an attack on Sinclair?” the company said in Tuesday’s video.

CNN referred reporters to a tweet from Stelter, who wrote that “there’s a huge difference between my coverage and Sinclair’s mandatory promos. No one tells me what to say. But their anchors are being told exactly what to say.”

He wrote that the local news promotions became a story because Sinclair staffers had spoken up and said that they were uncomfortable with them.

The broad meaning of “fake news” in the current media environment also clouds the issue. Fake news has been used to refer to deliberately false stories posted online, particularly during the 2016 presidential election. The term has also been used by Trump and other politicians to describe news stories they are unhappy with.
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https://www.fiercecable.com/video/s...cago-and-nyc-stations-draw-extra-fcc-scrutiny

An Update Sinclair's Associated Sidecar companies are in the Spotlight

The FCC is cracking down on Sinclair’s plan to spin-off television stations in Chicago and New York as part of its proposed $3.9 billion acquisition of Tribune Media.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the “sidecar” deals to sell Tribune’s WGN-TV in Chicago for $60 million and WPIX-TV for $15 million are raising red flags at the FCC because both potential new owners have close ties to Sinclair and Executive Chairman David Smith.

WGN-TV would be sold to a newly formed company headed by Steven Fader, CEO of Atlantic Automotive, a Maryland auto dealership group in which Smith holds a controlling interest.



WPIX-TV would be sold to Cunningham Broadcasting, which is owned by the estate of Smith’s mother, Carolyn Smith. Both deals retain Sinclair as the programming and service provider for the stations and include options for Sinclair to buy back the stations.

The FCC is reportedly pushing for Sinclair to make more space between itself and the two stations, which Sinclair is selling in order to comply with the national audience reach cap.
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