you have written extensively about sinclair broadcast group. we will link to your piece "trump tweets that sinclair "is far superior to cnn." had to come back, we memphis. this is the 50th anniversary of dr. king's mountaintntop spepee. 24 hours later, he would be gunned down in memphis. stay with us. ♪ [music break] amy: "winnie mandela beloved heroine" by sathima bea benjamin. winnie mandela died on monday at the age of 81 in south africa. this is democracy now!, democracynowow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. juan: we turn now to the commemorations being held this week to mark the 50th anniversary of the assassination of dr. martin luther king, junior. the civil rights leader and peace activist was gunned down on april 4, 1968, at the balcony of his hotel room at the lorraine motel in memphis, tennessee. he was just 39 years old. king was in memphis to support striking sanitation workers. hehe spoke at the mamason templn memphis. it becamee h his final speecech. >> i d't knknow what will happen nowow. wewe ha

sinclair broadcast. well the probably most obvious one is that the chief political analyst for the sinclair broadcast group is a former trump aide named for a sap stein and so what you have at the same player stations and there's you know roughly two hundred of them scattered across the country you know they have local teams of journalists who cover their local stories but they also centrally produce some segments about national politics and they require the stations to run the same segments all over the country so whether you're in boise as you mentioned earlier you're here in washington or or some place else on your nightly newscast you might very well see a former trump advisor in boris epstein on your t.v. spinning whatever the day's events are in the president's favor and tell him our viewers do we know are they turned off by this i mean does it hurt the pocketbook of sinclair broadcast group well you know that's hard to say and i think one of the things that i was writing about this morning is that until this particular montage put together by deadspin really picked up traction over the weekend i thi

don't think just because it is sinclair broadcast group that we get a pass. we want to say to people, we are not in the business of fake news. we believe and journalistic integrity. we believe in standards, honesty and fairness, and we feel we should not be biased. this is one thing cigar decided to do, he decided to do market research if there were to use this particular message on national tv, and how would you respond. over 70% of people who watch that said they would watch our news and trust our news. isis not about some car, it about the integrity of the entire industry. host: to california. steve, are you with us? you are on with armstrong williams. this short, i am listening and not very educated, but i hear your words. by --st thing i can go once money is involved, it trickles down. skeptical, il and ,ave learned this through life and it is to believe that everything is a lie. if i go by that, i can judge the truth for myself. guest:, and it he makes one point, many people feel the way he does. not that everything is a lie, but everything is suspect a

. >>> and now to the controversy playing out on tv screens across the nation it concerns sinclair broadcast group. that may not be a household name. sinclair is the country's largest local broad caster which owns or operates more than 190 stations. sinclair is under fire for requiring local news anchors in dozens of markets to read an identical protoad script criticizing "false news and fake stories." nbc's hallie jackson tells us sinclair is fighting back. >> reporter: a synchronized script. >> some media outlets published the same fake stories. >> reporter: on dozens of local news station. same words, same message -- >> -- to push their own personal bias. >> reporter: mandated by the same station owner, sinclair broadcasting group. tonight the corporation behind that commentary defiant and digging in after this video posted by deadspin went viral. in an internal memo obtained by nbc news, a sinclair executive lists its journalism awards and in a statement to reporters writes, "we find it curious that we would be attacked for asking our news people to remind their audiences that unsubstantiated

sinclair broadcast group that has reportedly forced the news anchors at almost two hundred stations to go public with the same trump friendly message text that many say is meant for trump t.v. which condemns the mainstream media for peddling fake news a video of those anchors recording the same message has gone viral here is part of that video take a look we are certainly proud of the quality balance journalism that c.b.s. four news produces but we're. going to hear one. you know every plaguing our country this sharing of biased and false news has become a call to comment on those are the media more. recently are through with the first unfortunately for some reason to believe there's nothing more for their own for. them to control the more you say and this is really dangerous to our democracy well tonight there are reports of resistance from inside newsrooms take a look at this tweet from a sinclair own station in wisconsin now it reads in response to the sinclair message which aired w m s in fox forty seven madison did not air the sinclair promotional announcement during our nine pm n

when they learned that the sinclair broadcast group was manipulating news content the reaction of many americans was just what is sinclair unlike fox news c.n.n. and m s n b c sinclair does not own a national news network so what's brand was not that well known but it does own one hundred seventy three local t.v. stations covering forty percent of american households since those channels are affiliated with national broadcasting brands a.b.c. n.b.c. and c.b.s. they display those logos rather than their parent companies up until now sinclair sent editorials from the company's headquarters in maryland that their channels were required to broadcast my goal with every segment is to tell you that's what you may not already know typically the so-called must runs are fronted by a sinclair executive boris epstein he worked on donald trump's election team some critics would have you believe that my experience somehow disqualifies me for providing you with my analysis and commentary this time the company changed the formula and got its local anchors to deliver the message instead it was caught a

that did that without a trace of irony the sinclair broadcast group is the biggest local television news network in the us one hundred seventy three stations now sinclair may not be a household corporate brand or wasn't until this little episode but it is influential and it's trying to grow through a merger that would expand its reach to seventy percent of american homes now getting that deal passed the regulator the federal communications commission probably won't be an issue sinclair has a friend in the white house and donald trump who is administration is currently bingeing on deregulation local television channels remain the primary news sources for millions of americans so there's a lot of stake here editorial balance accuracy and pluralism the kinds of things that those journalists mentioned as they do you to fully read off their auto cues last week our starting point this week spread far and wide local news outlets right across the united states of america. this sharing by news you can call to comment on. this is a textbook example of the whole being greater than the sum of its pa

you've been seeing a lot this week about the sinclair broadcast group the biggest t.v. station owner in the usa and they're hoping to get bigger this company was already controversial jerad questioner had disclosed that the trump campaign swapped special access to his father in law in exchange for coverage by sinclair stations and the company requires its local stations to air within newscasts conservative commentaries by former trump aide boris epstein and this week sinclair stations news anchors became the news as they were assigned to reciting a script from the home office for some reason to believe there's nothing the source of their own for my condition and control. the message cautions that biased and false news has become all too common on social media and that some news media outlets publish stories without fact checking. when a widely distributed video montage b. trade local anchors messages as orders from headquarters social media exploded what's really happening here the big picture let's ask mark crispin miller new york university professor of media studies

sinclair broadcast group owns and operating close to 200 stations across the country.ors were forced to read a company mandated script railing against so-called false news and fake stories, a script that sounded very much like something the president would say. take a look. >> the sharing of biased and false news has become all too common on social media. more alarming, some media outleoutlet ss publish these same fake stories, stories that aren't true, without checking facts first. unfortunately, some members of 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. >> the president tweeted about the backlash, saying, and i quote, so funny to watch fake news networks, among the most dishonest groups of people i have ever dealt with, criticize sinclair broadcasting for being biased. sinclair is far superior to cnn and even more fake nbc. the compa gary tuchman goes into detail. >> the sharing of biased and false news has become all too common on social media. >> report

but in the us where so many channels are corporate owned it must be different right the sinclair broadcast group which owns almost two hundred television stations and broadcast on around six hundred channels proudly proclaims its mission statement that it provides stories that make a difference the key to our success is called some choices. on all platforms well and its recent promos there's not much of a choice or a difference it seems our reading below is just sort of our treasure valley communities deal passed a loss christmas communities eastern i was communities with mission communities we are extremely proud of the quality balance journalism that c.b.s. news produces but. yours was very. very plaguing our country as you can see anchors from different channels reading the same script there which was by the way leaked to some media outlets and it looks like they only had to fill in their names. and i'm the greatest responsibility is to serve on northwest communities. and if you look closely you'll notice an absence of certain colors in their wardrobes that's no accident they were given speci

why do i mention sinclair broadcasting -- were not for david smith on the sinclair broadcasting group, i would not be on television groups -- stations across the country. sinclair broadcasting group gave me that opportunity. you have to be careful. you don't want a heavy hand in the newsroom. i know onalists that the left and the right really want to have integrity. they really want to do what is right. they really want to be fair and honorable in their reporting, which is very difficult sometimes. so, the newsroom you leave alone. what you do have -- you have what is called commentary. sometimes at the end of my broadcast i may offer a 30-minute commentary. i feel so strongly about what is going on with guns, going on in florida, with terrorism, the economy, daca -- i don't want it to spill out into my newsroom. i will step away and offer a commentary that is my own where i give my opinion. you will see those commentaries -- it is unscripted, my opinion, it is what i believe. it never spills over to the news department because i have the opportunity included on other shows that i do.

sinclair broadcasting group is getting a number of television stations but tasking their anchors withn statement attacking news and pushing partisan gender of being nonpartisan. can i get some help. watch his head. ♪ i'm so happy. ♪ whatever they went through, they went through together. welcome guys. life well planned. see what a raymond james financial advisor can do for you. liberty mutual saved us almost $800 when we switched our auto and home insurance. liberty did what? yeah, they saved us a ton, which gave us a little wiggle room in our budget. i wish our insurance did that. then we could get a real babysitter instead of your brother. hey, welcome back. this guy, right? (laughs) yes. ellen. that's my robe. you could save $782 when liberty stands with you. liberty mutual insurance. the commute is worth it.me, the more you know you and that john deere tractor... you can keep dreaming up projects all the way home. it's a longer drive. but just like a john deere, it's worth it. >>> you've got to hear this story. tensions are rising between sinclair broadcast group and their local a

aaron weiss was a director in the midwest that was bought by sinclair broadcasting group. r being here. >> thank you, alisyn. great to be here. >> you were at a sinclair station in 2013, or a station bought by sinclair. and you started to see troubling things. like what? >> that's right. pretty quickly after the acquisition happened, we started getting these must-run pieces that would come down every day from corporate. they had been well documented. >> what were those? what was the subject matter of the things that were being forced down your throat to run? >> they were generally political. some of them were preproduced packages from corporate. some were scripts that anchors were expected to read. and the expectation was they would be read entirely untouched without any oversight. they were of a quality that for me as news director i would look at these and if one of my fresh out of college reporters in market 147 had brought these scripts to me i would have is sent them back. but corporate expected us to run them untouched. >> and they had a conservative slant, correct me

. >>> president trump coming to the defense of the right leaning sinclair broadcast group tonight anal tv anchors reading the same script went viral. the topic near and dear to the president what he calls fake news. >> i'm jessica headily. >> i'm ryan wolf, our greatest responsibility is serve our >> eastern iowa communities. >> midmichigan communities, the sharing of bias asked false news has become all too common on social media. the more alarming media outlets publishing stories that simply aren't true without checking facts first. unfortunately, some members of the media are trying to push their own personal bias and agenda to control exactly what the people think. and this is extremely dangerous to our democracy. >> dangerous to our democracy. want to bring in michael cox. frank sesno the director of media and public affairs at george washington university. and liz wali. that really pains me, frank -- good evening, to all of you, by the way -- when i see those news anchors doing that. and many of them didn't want to do that i'm sure, and my heart goes out to them, but they've go

broadcast group sinclair under fire and being accused of the propaganda for requiring local anchors inzens of markets to read an identical promo script, criticizing, quote, false news and fake stories. well, now sinclair is firing back. nbc's hallie jackson has the details. >> reporter: a sin chronized script. >> some media outlets published the same fake stories. >> reporter: on dozens of news stations. same words, same message. mandated by the same station owner, sinclair broadcasting group. >> this is extremely dangerous to our democracy. >> reporter: the corporation behind that commentary defiant and digging in. after this video posted by dead spin went viral. in an internal memo obtained by nbc news, a sinclair executive lists its journalism awards and in a statement to reporters writes, we find it curious that we would be attacked for asking our news people to remind their audiences that unsubstantiated stories exist on social media. some critics see it differently. >> it's odd to see all these anchors saying the same thing at the same time with the words that have come out of on

the sinclair broadcast group is respond to go criticism over a controversial promo.arlier this year, anchors from sin layer-owned stations across the country were required to read a script warning viewers about fake news and false reports being, quote, extremely dangerous to our democracy. the segment got widespreadtation after dead spin published this video montage showing anchors echoing the same lines over and over again. in a memo sent to sinclair employees yesterday, the senior vice president of news scott livingston wrote, quote, the critics are now upset about our well researched journalic reporting. >> we find it curious that we would be attacked for asking our news people to remind their audiences that unsubstantial stories exist on fake media. president trump tweeted sinclair is far sprr to superior to cnn. two-thirds of those stations are in trump country. the company is also seeking to acquire dozens more by purchasing tribune media. >>> let's turn now to the congresswoman and outspoken youtube advocate who is accused of not protecting female staffers in

all but in the us where so many channels are corporate owned it must be different right sinclair broadcast group which owns almost two hundred television stations and broadcast on around six hundred channels proudly proclaims its mission statement that it provides stories that make a difference the key to our success is concentrated says one alert protecting them . on all platforms well and its recent promos there is not much of a choice or a difference it seems the sharing of biased and false news has become a call to comment on the social media the more. recent we are going through with the first unfortunately the summers and receive. the same. general control. of the usa and this is really dangerous towards our see as you can see anchors from different channels reading the same script there which was by the way leaked to some media outlets and it looks like they only had to fill in their names. and i'm be greatest responsibility is to servo northwest community used. and if you look closely you'll notice an absence of certain colors in their wardrobes that's no accident they were given specifi

all but in the us where so many channels are corporate owned it must be different right sinclair broadcast group which owns almost two hundred television stations and broadcast on around six hundred channels proudly proclaims its mission statement that it provides stories that make a difference. well and it's recent promos there's not much of a choice or a difference it seems the sharing of biased and false news you can call to comment on the year of the morning. recently or through the first unfortunately the summer summers you. see more of the usa and this is really dangerous towards marcy as you can see anchors from different channels reading the same script there which was by the way leaked to some media outlets and it looks like they only had to fill in their names like it could. kick and if you look closely you'll notice an absence of certain colors in their wardrobes that's no accident they were given specific instructions on how to dress in order to look neutral. kick kick. because everyone knows that magenta is the color that gives you and your bias away apart from these promo sinclair

sinclair stations but with a big caviar sinclair is airing its own message before and after to make sure viewers get the point. which is owned by singular broadcast groupproud to present both sides of issues for that reason we have agreed to air the commercial you're about to see opposing sinclair's acquisition of additional television stations we think the ad is misleading but wanted to let you decide thank you for what happens when your local news is a local. guy getting jammed. their own service station and nearly two hundred others if for dozens of bankers to recycle the same political message word for word now sinclair is trying to control the news stations in seventy two percent of american homes tell the f.c.c. to stop the sinclair merger that the country might try to moderate this extremely. misleading ad you just saw focused on a brief promotional message that simply said we are a source for truthful new ignored thousands of hours a local news we produce each year to keep you informed the ad was purchased by a group known for its little bias and we hope you will buy into the hysteria and hype. there you go hysteria and hype sinclair is also us