Don’t be fooled by the anti-Sinclair Media movement’s hidden agenda

If you have not watched cable news in the last few days, consider yourself lucky.

If you have, you have probably seen a video compilation of Sinclair Media anchors all reading from the same script, denouncing “biased and false news” on social media. Deadspin—the sports blog to which many of Gawker’s potty-mouthed lefty reporters fled following the infamously crippling Hulk Hogan lawsuit—created the video by combining a series of clips from Sinclair newscasts. Deadspin’s compilation has been making the rounds on social media and television.

How America’s largest local TV owner turned its news anchors into soldiers in Trump’s war on the media: https://t.co/iLVtKRQycL pic.twitter.com/dMdSGellH3

— Deadspin (@Deadspin) March 31, 2018

Apparently, as shown by the Deadspin compilation, news anchors company-wide were instructed to read that script, which was nothing more than a sort of harmless pledge that was some variation of the follows:

ANCHOR 1: Our greatest responsibility it is to serve our communities in [insert name of community here].

ANCHOR 2: We are extremely proud of the quality of the balanced journalism [insert station name here] produces. But we are concerned about the troubling trend of irresponsible one-sided news stories plaguing our country.

ANCHOR 1: The sharing of biased and false news has become all too common on social media. More alarming, some media outlets publish these fake news stories without checking facts first. Unfortunately, some in the media use their platforms to push their own personal bias and agenda to control exactly what people think. This is extremely dangerous to our democracy.

ANCHOR 2: [Insert station name here], it’s our responsibility to report and pursue the truth. We understand truth is neither politically left or right. Our commitment to factual reporting is the foundation of our credibility now more than ever.

ANCHOR 1: But we are human, and sometimes our reporting might fall short. If you believe our coverage is unfair, please reach out through [insert station name here]’s website, [insert station’s website address here] by clicking on content concerns.

ANCHOR 2: We value your comments. We will respond back. We work very hard to seek the truth and strive to be fair, balanced and factual.

ANCHOR 1: We consider it our honor and privilege to responsibly deliver the news every day. Thank you for watching.

ANCHOR 2: And we appreciate your feedback.

The pledge was aired on two stations with coverage in Alabama, Mobile/Pensacola ABC affiliate WEAR 3 and Birmingham’s ABC 33/40.

At worst, Sinclair Media is guilty of micromanaging their properties. However, if you have seen people decrying it on cable news and social media (with some even calling for a boycott of Sinclair), you would think this message was a sinister right-wing media plot to overthrow American democracy.

And do not fool yourself. The hysteric, left-wing coverage is no accident.

The establishment media is less concerned about the impropriety of identical scripts in multiple media markets than it is about blocking Sinclair Media’s effort to expand its foothold in their world.

Sinclair Media is looking to expand, by acquiring Tribune Media Company for $3.8 million. The merger would grant Sinclair coverage to 70 percent of American households. That creates two problems for the self-appointed media watchdogs in the media:

First, Sinclair is right-of-center, and it poses a threat to the liberal orthodoxy that dominates the mainstream media. Aside from receiving praise from President Donald Trump, often a target of the media, the left-wing storefront Media Matters has focused on telling the public why such a merger must not be allowed.

Second, as those in the media opposing the merger see it, Sinclair Media will now have a competitive advantage vying for advertisers’ dollars, including the size and national presence to go head-to-head with Internet giants Google and Facebook. Obtaining that ability was sure to create headwinds for Sinclair Media.

But now with the trumped-up Deadspin video, Sinclair Media’s opponents hope to sow the seeds of doubt and hostility in the public so that a movement is inspired to stop the merger.

Here’s the Alabama connection – for years, Sinclair has given James Spann, a meteorologist who does not accept the liberal conventions on anthropogenic global warming, employment. Many other media outlets would have shunned Spann. Despite this non-conformity, Spann is one of the most universally liked figures in the state.

Perhaps it is the fear of the James Spanns that has Sinclair’s detractors worried.

@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and is the editor of Breitbart TV.