Trump campaign struck deal with media company for more favorable coverage

[babylonsister]

https://thinkprogress.org/trump-campaign-media-deal-for-favorable-coverage-d2a945c458c3#.2djewt4wh

Kiley Kroh
Senior Editor at ThinkProgress. Climate, sports, features. Contact me: [e-mail]
1 hr ago
Trump campaign struck deal with media company for more favorable coverage
The campaign reportedly traded access for interviews broadcast without commentary.



President-elect Donald Trump has long positioned himself at odds with the media, lashing out at reporters and outlets that dared to criticize him or shine light on his numerous scandals. His vitriol toward the press became so intense on the campaign trail that reporters covering his rallies began to fear for their safety.

The Trump campaign also sought out allies, like Fox News’ Sean Hannity, to counteract the media’s attempt at straightforward coverage with airtime unencumbered by tough questions (over $31 million in free airtime, in fact). Now it seems Hannity wasn’t the only one. The campaign struck a deal with Sinclair Broadcast Group for similarly uncritical coverage, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner reportedly told a group of business executives in Manhattan Friday.

Sinclair got more access to Trump and the campaign and, in return, broadcast Trump interviews without commentary to its television stations across the country, six people who heard Kushner’s remarks told Politico.

“Kushner highlighted that Sinclair, in states like Ohio, reaches a much wider audience — around 250,000 listeners — than networks like CNN, which reach somewhere around 30,000.”

snip//

His ascendance means “there’s definitely reason for concern,” Suzanne Nossel, executive director of PEN American Center, which advocates for free expression, told Newsweek. “If the campaign and his past history are any indication, this will be a president who is dismissive of the role of the press. Accusatory. Punitive in his treatment of journalists. Arbitrary. Secretive when he wants to be.”

[bettyellen]

1. Is sinclair a news network on cable? I'm curious if any of us have watched it

[bettyellen]

2. Oh they are Rev broadcast and add content to all networks plus CW have been political

And stepping over the line broadcasting propaganda packaged as news all over the south and Midwest.
Swiftboating pieces of shit.



https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_Broadcast_Group

[Bradical79]

3. No, they're a media conglomerate

So they own lots of local channels here in Ohio, for example. So our local Columbus ABC and Fox affiliates are part of Sinclair. They tend to run conservative/Republican propaganda during election season. Their head honcho even used to do a conservative opinion segment fillowing every news broadcast.

[bettyellen]

4. I just read the Wiki and it seems they produce content- news and sports

Pre packaged for many many local stations that they do not own. They've been accused of breaking laws before.

See the Wiki above.

[demmiblue]

6. More info: List of stations owned or operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group

Sinclair Broadcast Group is the largest owner of television stations in the United States, currently owning or operating a total of 154 stations across the country (165 after all currently proposed sales are approved) in nearly 80 markets, ranging from markets as large as Washington, D.C. to as small as Steubenville, Ohio.

Many stations are owned outright by the company, but many others are affiliated through other companies through a local marketing agreement, a concept Sinclair pioneered in Pittsburgh in 1991 when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) forbid duopolies. (The stations involved in the initial deal, WPGH-TV and WPTT — now WPNT — are now both owned by Sinclair outright.) Sinclair has done this with various companies, most notably Cunningham Broadcasting and Deerfield Media, both of which are each believed to be a shell corporation in order for Sinclair to circumvent FCC rules.

The stations are affiliates of various television networks: ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox. Sinclair also owned or managed several affiliates of the WB and UPN networks, which both launched in January 1995. In September 2006, the WB and UPN merged their operations into a new network, the CW. Eight of Sinclair's WB stations, along with independent KFBT (now KVCW) in Las Vegas, became affiliates of the new network. At the same time, Sinclair aligned 17 of its stations (ten former WB affiliates, six former UPN stations, and independent WFGX) with MyNetworkTV, a programming service owned by Fox's parent News Corporation. Sinclair's relationship with Fox/News Corporation was also strengthened after Sinclair agreed to a six-year affiliation renewal for its 19 Fox-affiliated stations. The deal also included flagship WBFF in Baltimore, despite Fox owning a station, MyNetworkTV affiliate WUTB, in the same market; however, Sinclair would later purchase WUTB.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_Broadcast_Group

[2naSalit]

5. A nifty tool for looking over relationships...

http://www.muckety.com/Sinclair-Broadcast-Group/5101015.muckety

I searched SBG at the site and a couple clicks reveal this.

The home page for Muckety shows they have been connecting a lot of dots recently, worth a little venture into relationship visuals (using the site's tools) visual to see who is connected to whom.

http://news.muckety.com/

[KamaAina]

7. Isn't that an illegal in-kind campaign contribution on Sinclair's part?

[spanone]

8. who nbc? cbs? fox? abc? cnn?

jeebus he got 2 fucking billion dollars of free time and he still had to BUY some?

[aggiesal]

9. It's one station ABCNNBCBSFOX ...

Don't you know that?

[spanone]

10. i'm learning!

[elmac]

11. And after all the dirty tricks Trump and the GOP got away with

we will fight them by taking the high road. You betcha!

[Efilroft Sul]

12. "They went to Jared!"