THE SCRIPT
March 2018: local TV anchors across the country read the same corporate script, word for word.
Sinclair Broadcast Group, the largest owner of local television stations in the United States, sent its newsrooms a "must-run" promo. Anchors in market after market recorded it as written. It warned viewers about "fake stories" and media outlets pushing "their own personal bias and agenda," and it said: "This is extremely dangerous to our democracy."
On March 31, 2018, Deadspin stitched dozens of those broadcasts into one video. Played side by side, the anchors spoke in unison. Most viewers had no idea their local station was owned by the same company as the station in the next city over.
Sinclair said the promos were a routine message about journalistic responsibility.
The record
- NPR, April 2, 2018: Video reveals power of Sinclair, as local news anchors recite script in unison
- Variety: Sinclair Broadcast Group faces backlash over scripted promos
- PBS NewsHour: Viral video raises worry over Sinclair's messaging inside local news
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