Local news anchors across the country are reading from the exact same script on Joe Biden.
Local television news broadcasters are airing suspiciouslyĀ similar attacksĀ on Joe Bidenās mental acuity and how it will affect the coming electionāand it appears to be part of a coordinated effort.
The Sinclair Broadcast Group owns or operates 185 local television stations across the country, and dozens of their stations aired a segment from national correspondent Matthew Galka citing aĀ Wall Street JournalĀ articleĀ that makes dubious attacks on Bidenās age and mental awareness. The stations that aired the segment introduced it using startlingly similar, if not identical language, the Popular Information and Public Notice newslettersĀ reported.
Itās not the first time Sinclair, owned by right-wing businessman David D. Smith, has appeared to be running a conservative propaganda campaign. Infamously in 2018, dozens of the companyās TV stations were caught airing anĀ identical editorialĀ about the dangers of biased and false news. This time around, theĀ Rupert Murdoch-ownedĀ Wall Street Journal, as well as Murdochās cable news stations Fox News and Fox Business, have gotten in on the act.
Theyāre not historically more neutral, in the sense of editorial freedom, unless youāre going back to the 60s or something. Itās just that their common scripts were from ABC, CBS, or NBC, which were conservative enough but frustratingly linked to reality.
Sinclair isnāt different as much as they are radically right-wing. They may as well have a scowling Boris Epshteynās face on the screen for two minutes with scary music in the background. Anyone watching local news in 2024 is signing up for gruesomeness at some level.
Thatās not true. The actual local news programming was entirely independent from the affiliated broadcast network. National news programming from the national news networks were carried, including more editorial/long form formats (60 minutes, Dateline, Nightline), but that was still independent from what the local stations were covering in their own newsrooms.