Sinclair Claims ‘Must-Run’ Segment From Former Trump Aide Doesn’t ‘Reflect’ Their Views
Sinclair Broadcast Group has long taken heat for forcing the 100+ local stations it owns across the country to run pro-Trump political commentary segments from former White House aide Boris Epshteyn. Notable past segments have included a defense of the Trump administration separating migrant children from their parents and Epshteyn backing Trump’s “both sides” remarks regarding Charlottesville.
This week has featured two more controversial “Bottom Line with Boris” hits — a defense of border patrol agents using tear gas on migrant women and children and the Sinclair chief political analyst accusing Twitter of anti-Semitism for banning far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer after she baselessly claimed a newly elected Muslim congresswoman was “anti Jewish” and “pro Sharia.” Loomer also implied that the soon-to-be lawmaker would be involved in killing homosexuals and abusing women.
With these two segments bringing the conservative-leaning media organization unwanted attention, Sinclair addressed the matter on Twitter.
We'd like to take a moment and address some concerns regarding a commentary segment by @borisep that was aired on Sinclair stations this week. The opinions expressed in this segment do not reflect the views of Sinclair Broadcast Group.
— Sinclair Broadcast Group (@WeAreSinclair) November 28, 2018
“We’d like to take a moment and address some concerns regarding a commentary segment by @borisep that was aired on Sinclair stations this week,” the group wrote on its official Twitter account. “The opinions expressed in this segment do not reflect the views of Sinclair Broadcast Group.”
When Boris’s segments are aired on our stations, they are labeled clearly as commentary. We also offer our stations reporting from the Beltway and beyond that are not partisan or bias in any way.
— Sinclair Broadcast Group (@WeAreSinclair) November 28, 2018
“When Boris’s segments are aired on our stations, they are labeled clearly as commentary,” they added. “We also offer our stations reporting from the Beltway and beyond that are not partisan or bias in any way.”
If you have any concerns about any of our content, we genuinely want to hear from you: https://t.co/fHYqYwcRCR. Above all, we are committed to fair, unbiased journalism across our stations nationwide and are truly honored to serve our communities. Local news always comes first.
— Sinclair Broadcast Group (@WeAreSinclair) November 28, 2018
“Above all, we are committed to fair, unbiased journalism across our stations nationwide and are truly honored to serve our communities. Local news always comes first,” Sinclair concluded after providing a link to send any complaints over content.
Sinclair didn’t highlight which “Bottom Line With Boris” segment it was addressing — the pro-Loomer one or the one in support of gassing kids.
While Sinclair can technically claim that Epshteyn’s segments are “commentary” and thus only reflect his views and not Sinclair as a whole, that all becomes moot when they are making their television stations run these segments as part of their news coverage. Something a number of reporters and observers made a point of Tuesday night.
Of course they reflect the views of Sinclair stations. That's why you force local stations to run them. What weasel words.https://t.co/ZUGmbQBDGZ
— andrew kaczynski (@KFILE) November 29, 2018
Sinclair wants everyone to know that Boris Epshteyn's pro-tear gas segment did "not reflect the views" of the company. Stations were required to run it. Anti-tear gas counterpoint coming soon? https://t.co/SYN9DBy4x8
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) November 28, 2018
You pay him Lord knows how much and his segments are must-run. So yeah, they kinda do. https://t.co/ICsu1Hpwno
— Jared Holt (@jaredlholt) November 29, 2018
