KATU, a news station owned by Sinclair Media Group and based in Portland, Oregon, has asked — essentially threatened — employees not to share “negative information” about the company with the press.
FTVLive obtained an internal memo written by the station’s general manager, Robert Truman, ordering staff not to speak with the media about the recent controversy surrounding a script about the dangers of “fake news” that Sinclair forced news anchors from its approximately 200 news stations to recite.
“Please DO NOT answer any questions or get into any discussion with callers, as they try to navigate to someone internally,” wrote Truman. “Most certainly don’t talk to the press about the issue. Direct them to the website and press inquiries to me.”
Before ending the memo by asking employees to direct questions they may have to him, Truman added an ominous line:Â “I will also remind you that giving statements to the media or sharing negative information about the company can have huge implications.”
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With how quickly his memo leaked, it doesn’t look like Truman will have much luck keeping his staff quiet.
