Author: Graeme McMillan / Source: WIRED
Last week involved a shooting at YouTube, numerous scandals involving EPA director Scott Pruitt, and surprising new sanctions placed on Russian oligarchs, and yet, none of that makes it into what’s being discussed below. Does that mean, perhaps, that the week was too busy? Read on and make the decision for yourself.
When the News Is News
What Happened: If your local news sounds like something you’ve heard somewhere before … Well, you might be watching a station owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group.
What Really Happened: That Sinclair Broadcast Group is a, shall we say, controversial entity is hardly a new thing; even those who don’t remember 2004’s John Kerry Swift Boat documentary might recall, say, John Oliver’s piece on Last Week Tonight last year or stories calling Sinclair “the most dangerous US company you have never heard of.” Folks even knew it forced TV stations to air right-wing material, just as they knew it had hired former Donald Trump campaign spokesman Borys Epshteyn as its chief political analyst, with his segments being pushed on TV stations over the concerns of those working at the stations. So, maybe last week’s Sinclair news shouldn’t have been a surprise. And yet, this report still seemed somewhat shocking.
The Deadspin story—and especially that video—made it clear just how much Sinclair is manipulating the narrative and dictating coverage, and plenty of people noticed. (Again.) Including some unlikely figures.
There’s a reason this is a big deal, of course.
With its methods out in the open—and seeing more sunlight by the day—Sinclair was definitely not acting in any way suspiciously about the subject in communications to its staff.
Much of the response from critics had a tone of, “Well, why don’t the reporters and anchors just quit?” Even beyond the simple fact of, “It’s never easy to find a new job,” it turns out it might not be that easy to leave a Sinclair.
With a boycott of Sinclair under discussion, you might expect Sinclair stations to be doing everything they could to keep viewers on their side, but apparently not.
It seemed, at least for all outward appearances, that Sinclair—and especially chairman David Smith—had decided that the best defense was good offense.
Perhaps he’s right not to be worried, especially when you consider who’s loving all of this.
The Takeaway: Well, if you can’t beat ’em, buy ads from ’em. That’s one way of using the market to fight back.
What Happened: In the second media story of the week, it turns out that sometimes a tweet is a good indicator of someone’s stance. Who knew?
What Really Happened: Perhaps you missed the upset recently…
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