[212], Despite a plea from Iowa's Congressional delegation urging the two sides to submit to binding arbitration, Sinclair rejected the plea on January 11. [94] Sinclair had two rounds of executive promotions announced in November 2016 and effective January 1, 2017, with chair and CEO David D. Smith moving up to executive chairman while CFO Christopher Ripley becoming president and CEO. [53][54], Titan TV Broadcast Group sold four stations, along with operating agreements for two stations, to Sinclair on June 3, 2013. According to the Center for Responsive Politics (Open Secrets), the Sinclair Broadcast Group has donated$1,143,508 or 80% to Republican candidates since 1994. [4] The company has 10,000employees as of 2021, and acquired an additional 46,000-square-foot (4,300m2) office building near its main Hunt Valley headquarters to accommodate an additional 260employees. That's how Putin wins. [147] The special was met with controversy for showing a bias against Obama and focusing little on Republican candidate Mitt Romney, as opposed to showcasing both candidates equally. [235], On August 25, 2015, ten days after the 2012 retransmission agreement had expired, Dish customers lost access to 129 Sinclair stations, resulting in the largest local television blackout in history. In June, subsidiary Sinclair TV Group, Inc. formed Tornante-Sinclair LLC, a TV production company, with Michael Eisner's Tornante Co. With MGM on October 31, 2015, Comet was launched as a sci-fi broadcast subchannel network. Note 9. eliminated in consolidation. [47] This deal also returned Sinclair to radio ownership since the divestment of their radio portfolio between 1999 and 2000. Sinclair Broadcast Group's si : Summer Hunger Relief Initiative In Partnersh.. Wells Fargo Adjusts Sinclair Broadcast Group's Price Target to $15 From $16, Keeps Unde.. Resenblatt Securities Adjusts Sinclair Broadcast Group's Price Target to $16 From $18, .. Sinclair Broadcast Fourth-Quarter Sales Slide Despite Advertising Gains. The reporter, who is also a correspondent for Attkissons show, asked a softball question about how Trumps philosophical differences with Trudeau would affect cooperation on trade and terrorism, instead of asking him about reports spreading at the time that then-national security adviser Michael Flynn may have violated federal law. But the commercial, a minute long, has run at least 100 times since Saturday, heavily in East Lansing and Pittsburgh. The station has also begun to carry pieces produced by Sinclairs Washington bureau about national issues and federal programs. [105][106][107][108][109] The D.C. Court of Appeals denied the emergency stay motion on June 15, 2017, though it is still subject to a pending court proceeding to appeal the UHF discount implementation. [114] On August 9, 2018, Tribune Media announced that it had terminated the sale agreement with Sinclair, and that it had filed a $1 billion lawsuit against the company for breach of contract. donations were made during the 2022 election cycle and were released by the Federal Election The company also has ties to President Donald Trump and his administration, covered him very favorably during his presidential campaign, and hired one of his former aides as an analyst. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------. Most of the television stations run by Sinclair are owned by the company outright; however, the company operates many others through either a local marketing agreements or shared services agreements. Previously, in 2007, nine Sinclair stations aired public affairs shows without disclosing that host Armstrong Williams had been paid by an affiliate of the Education Department to make favorable comments about the Bush administrations No Child Left Behind policy. As a result, the Federal Communications Commission fined Sinclair $36,000 for violating rules against payola punditry. From the September 16, 2014, article: Theres a new owner and a new approach to the news at WJLA-TV, Washingtons ABC affiliate. though it accepted donations. [214] On January 30, 2007, Senators Daniel Inouye, chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and Ranking Member Ted Stevens signed a letter addressed to FCC chairman Kevin Martin. The memo, written by Sinclair's Vice President of News Scott Livingston and sent to Sinclair station news directors, said he wants to dispel some of the myths being reported about the organization. [Media Matters, 10/2/15], Wash. Post: Sinclair And Its Executives Have Been Consistent Financial Contributors To Republican Candidates." They range from reports about its must run segments to morale at its Washington station WJLA. Oliver also noted that Epshteyn attacked CNN for its coverage of Trump and that Sinclair affiliates aired a 25-minute attack on Obama in 2010. Mediacom and lawmakers from Iowa and Alabama asked the FCC to intervene. While scheduling of the special was at the discretion of each station, Columbus, Ohio ABC affiliate WSYX pre-empted both ABC World News and Nightline to air it. "[145][174], Later in October 2004, just two weeks prior to the 2004 presidential election, it was reported that all 62 of Sinclair's stations would preempt prime time programming to air Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal, a documentary critical of U.S. presidential candidate John Kerry's anti-Vietnam War activism. [171] Sinclair ordered its seven ABC affiliates not to air the episode; the company claimed the broadcast "[appeared] to be motivated by a political agenda designed to undermine the efforts of the United States in Iraq", and undermined a then-ongoing effort by its Washington bureau to report on positive, "untold" stories from Iraq under occupation that were being ignored by mainstream media outlets. What will Donald Trump offer the African American community better than Hillary Clinton can? And: He has talked a lot about job creation. They own two TV stations here, Fox and ABC. What will he do specifically to help employment among African Americans?, Mark Hyman a Sinclair executive and conservative commentator who appears on Sinclair stations regularly criticized Clinton or highlighted positions favorable to Trump in his on-air commentaries. Prior to joining The White House, Mr. Epshteyn served as Communications Director for the 58th Presidential Inaugural Committee. But its partisan politics - and connections to the White House - are raising concerns Sinclair's size, rightwing politics and close. For us, this was how the roadmap looked: a far-right organization that's been under investigation for racial bias and illegal political campaign activity writes a smear piece abou Indiana Statesman, Joe Lippard, April 3, 2018, Last edited on 27 December 2022, at 22:14, FCC-proposed incentive auction and subsequent repacking of television broadcast spectrum, Attempted acquisition of Tribune Media by Sinclair Broadcast Group, National Republican Trust Political Action Group, United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, List of stations owned or operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group, local marketing agreements or shared services agreements, "Sinclair Broadcast Group Annual Reports 2016", "Sinclair Broadcast Number of Employees 2010-2022 | SBGI", "Hogan, officials applaud rise to Fortune 500 by Sinclair Broadcast, McCormick and T. Rowe Price at new Sinclair office", "Analysis | Yes, Sinclair Broadcast Group does cut local news, increase national news and tilt its stations rightward", "Sinclair Wanted to Rival Fox News. CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS (form 10-K), Sinclair Broadcast Group Names Logan Argo Vice President and General Manager of KVII in Amarillo, Texas and Simulcast KVIH, COMET, CHARGE! 11/30/22 2:13 PM EST, Article [133][134][135] Ransomware experts later indicated that the attack was likely linked to Evil Corp., a Russia-based cybergang that was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2019 and had been accused prior to the attack of attempting to rebrand itself to evade the sanctions; the hackers are believed to have disseminated the Macaw ransomware strain (which was also linked to a similar cyberattack that hit Olympus Corporation's corporate server network on October 10) within Sinclair's servers. [45][46], Prevailing in a bidding war with LIN Media, Sinclair purchased Fisher Communications on April 11, 2013, for $373.3million (equivalent to $434million in 2021), including 20 television stations in the western United States, operational control of one station, and three radio stations in Seattle. The KECI station manager told HuffPost that the station did not have specific instructions or any instruction from Sinclair regarding the Gianforte story. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 14, 2009, Sinclair stated that if the company could not refinance its $1.33 billion debt or if Cunningham Broadcasting became insolvent due to nonpayment on a loan worth $33.5 million, Sinclair may be forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. According to the Center for Responsive Politics (Open Secrets), the Sinclair Broadcast Group has donated $1,143,508 or 80% to Republican candidates since 1994. Chesapeake Television is a subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcast Group that owns television stations in smaller markets. [113] On July 16, 2018, FCC chairman Ajit Pai was reported to have "serious concerns" about the transaction and proposed a hearing before an administrative law judge. The coalition argued that Glencairn passed itself off as a minority-owned company (Edwards is African American) which, since the Smith family controlled most of the company's stock, was technically a Sinclair arm that planned to use the LMA with KOKH to gain control of the station and create an illegal duopoly with KOCB. The story claims that two alleged robbers arrived to find the doors of the bank locked. spectrum for a wide variety of services including multi-channel broadcasts. Our commitment to our viewers is to go beyond podium, beyond the rhetoric. DC All Rights Reserved. For Sinclair stations where the newscast is operated by an external newsroom, the contracts generally forbid Sinclair from interfering with editorial control. [57] Sinclair exercised its option to purchase KDBC-TV outright[58] citing KDBC-TV's fourth-place ranking in the El Paso market while KFOX ranked sixth, making it permissible under FCC duopoly regulations. 03/01/23 2:02 PM EST, Article block that shit right off the television. Since May 2015, three deals were made to expand American Sports Network beyond college sports. [225], In a January 5, 2007, article, Broadcasting & Cable reported that Sinclair might pull 30 stations from Comcast systems after its retransmission agreement was slated to expire on February 5. in /nfs/c05/h04/mnt/113983/domains/toragrafix.com/html/wp-content . [97] The sale was approved on June 30,[98] and the sale was completed September 1. The promos contain language decrying "biased and false news", and accusing unnamed mainstream media figures of bias. 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