• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

Sinclair broadcasting to continue censoring the Jimmy Kimmel show.

NolanVoyd

DP Veteran
Joined
Mar 14, 2021
Messages
43,256
Reaction score
31,402
Gender
Male
Political Leaning
Liberal

Kimmel’s show to return Tuesday, but Sinclair will continue to keep it off its ABC stations​


But not all of ABC’s affiliated stations will be carrying Kimmel’s comeback show. Sinclair, one of the country’s biggest owners of local TV stations, said its ABC affiliates will preempt the show “beginning Tuesday night.” Sinclair said it will air news programming in the time slot instead.

I woll not watch any Sinclair statiom until they stop.
 
Sinclair is the very definition of the mainstream conservative media.

Nobody seems to know that they exist, and yet they control what millions of MAGA see and hear each and every day.
 
Sinclair will fold when their advertisers start bailing. Similar to why ABC folded.
Unlikely. Sinclair is hyper-conservative and always has been.

I'm surprised more people don't know about them.

 
For decades, Sinclair has been an extremist right-wing political activist company. Just a Google AI piece:


Sinclair Broadcast Group has a decades-long history of promoting a conservative agenda across its expansive network of local television stations, a strategy driven by its controlling family, the Smiths. This activism has involved mandating political content, hiring commentators with ties to conservative figures, and prioritizing conservative viewpoints in news coverage. [1, 2, 3, 4]


Mandatory "must-run" content
A central pillar of Sinclair's activism is the use of "must-run" segments, which are mandatory for local affiliates to air and are produced centrally by the company.
  • "Fake news" promotion (2018): Sinclair received widespread attention and criticism for requiring dozens of its local anchors to record and broadcast an identical script. The segment warned viewers about "biased and fake news" stories from other media outlets, echoing language often used by Donald Trump at the time.
  • Commentary segments: The company has long required its local stations to air conservative commentary. These have included segments by former Sinclair Vice President for Corporate Relations Mark Hyman and, later, by Boris Epshteyn, a former Trump administration official.
  • COVID-19 misinformation (2020): Sinclair gained additional scrutiny when it promoted and then pulled a planned segment that contained misinformation about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. [1, 5, 6, 7, 8]
Use of news programming for conservative messaging
Beyond mandatory segments, Sinclair has repeatedly used its programming to advance specific conservative political positions.
  • Documentary critical of John Kerry (2004): During the presidential campaign, Sinclair required its stations to air a special that included clips from a one-sided documentary critical of Democratic candidate John Kerry's Vietnam War service.
  • Treatment of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton (2016): During the 2016 election, Sinclair's programming was noted for favoring Republican candidate Donald Trump over his opponent, Hillary Clinton. According to reports at the time, Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, indicated that he had struck a deal with Sinclair for favorable coverage.
  • Favoring Republican candidates: Sinclair has regularly aired news coverage and special segments supportive of the Republican Party in the lead-up to elections.
  • Baltimore Sun acquisition (2024): After Sinclair owner David Smith acquired The Baltimore Sun, the paper began to include more conservative content. The newspaper started republishing content from Sinclair's WBFF-TV and the conservative news wire The Center Square, leading to a conservative shift in its coverage. [4, 5, 10, 11, 12]
Controversial programming decisions
The company has also used its power to block content that clashes with its conservative stance.
  • Nightline broadcast (2004): Sinclair barred its ABC affiliates from airing an episode of Nightline that dedicated its entire broadcast to reading the names of U.S. service members killed in Iraq.
 
So you think Sinclair is willing to forego millions in revenue for their political ends? If so, they will be the first.
I do. They have. They are willing to lose some money to support the corrupt politics they think makes them a lot more. How many billionaires and companies spent millions to elect Republicans and got thousands of percent return? It's literally the single most profitable investment they make.
 
Attack (legally with your mouths and wallets only of course) their advertisers.
 
Looking forward to some late night reruns of Celebrity Family Feud though.
 
You're not saying they are making sacrifice, but rather investment. Time will tell. I still think they will fold. The local affiliates will rule the day.
 
Looking forward to some late night reruns of Celebrity Family Feud though.
What's interesting is how the billions of dollars of right-wing money haven't been able to create right-wing alternative political entertainers, as they have ben able to create alternatives to legitimate news outlets, like Fox. They've tried, over and over, back under Bush it was Dennis Miller for one.
 
You're not saying they are making sacrifice, but rather investment. Time will tell. I still think they will fold. The local affiliates will rule the day.
I'm not saying they won't - it'll come down to how much they'll pay, just as it did with Disney - but they own the stations, and are willing to pay a lot for their extremist politics. But they might decide at some point it's not worth the cost on this issue as their viewers revolt.
 
They did that creepy thing where they forced the anchors to all recite the same scripted Orwellian chicken vomit years ago, so **** 'em.
 

Another owner of many ABC local television stations - Nexstar - also says it will not bring Jimmy Kimmel back tonight. Boycott these compnies.

Nexstar is seeking a merger with Tegna, Inc. - another media company that will increase Nexstar's ownership of local ABC stations to more than 39% of the market which is illegal.

Trump's FCC Commissioner - Brendan Carr - said he will seek a waiver for this merger (subtext: as long as Nexstar continues to suspend Jimmy Kimmel indefinitely).

Contact your US Senators and Representative and complain about the illegal Nexstar/Tegna telecommunications merger.

Both Sinclair and Nexstar have openly pro-Trump CEO's.
 
Here's the thing: Sinclair says it will air news in that hour. The people who tune in for Kimmel are done with the news at that hour. They will change the channel. The advertisers will follow them. The void will not be filled by people who were avoiding Kimmel.
 

Gutfeld!

Punching down just isn't that funny.

And too be fair, Maga feels they're down - even though they control everything.
 
Sinclair owns News 4 and Fox 11 locally. I don't frequent either. Nothing to do with Sinclair, unless I just have an innate, unnoticed revulsion to Sinclair owned products.

I don't watch network TV. I like the Kimmel clips I see, but I haven't been hooked up to cable/satellite for way more than a decade.
 
So you think Sinclair is willing to forego millions in revenue for their political ends? If so, they will be the first.
They don't need to face that choice because they can further their political ends while making millions. They've been doing it for decades.

Remember, Sinclair's modus operandi is to further political ends en masse while making it look like it's just the local, trusted newscasters expressing their views. Watch the video above, it's chock full of examples.
 
Check to see if they have an affiliate in your area, tune in during local news time, take note of a few local advertisers and let them know you don't like that they advertise with a company that censors.



Same goes for Nexstar

 
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn more…