A Sinclair owned station in Wisconsin defied their corporate owners and refused to air a Trump propaganda warning about “fake news.”
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Sinclair caused an uproar by making local station anchors read a piece of Trump propaganda about media false information:
At least one station, so far, has refused.
WMSN/Fox47 in Madison, Wisconsin tweeted out a statement explaining why they didn’t air the Trump propaganda:
In response to the Sinclair message aired: "WMSN/FOX47 Madison did not air the Sinclair promotional announcement during our 9pm news this weekend. Rather, we stayed true to our commitment to provide our Madison area viewers local news, weather and sports of interest to them." pic.twitter.com/MdQ568cWrH
— FOX 47 Madison (@fox47madison) April 2, 2018
Sinclair makes parts of Fox News look like MSNBC. They are the most extreme form of Trump propaganda this side of Russia Today, which is what Fox News’ morning and primetime shows already mirror.
What Sinclair is doing is simple. They are injecting Trump’s message into local news that viewers trust. Local television news is in decline, but according to a 2017 Pew survey, it is still where 37% of Americans get their information.
One Sinclair owned station said no. More stations need to follow. Sinclair can’t fire every single person at every station that they own and still produce local newscasts across the country. In case you haven’t looked at the TV schedule, local news takes up anywhere 3-7 programming hours a day on weekdays and more on weekends.
Fox47 deserves applause. Their mission is to provide viewers information about what is happening in their local community. It is not to help the president sow distrust in the press through propaganda.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
