Background

Numbers of stations come owned straight-out per company, however numbers of others come affiliated across local marketing agreements, or LMAs. A stations come affiliates of various television networks: ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, UPN, and a WB. Both of the stations come independents.

SBG has been in comparison a radio conglomerate Clear Channel Communications. A company, founded by Julian Smith, originated within 1971 as a UHF station in Baltimore, Maryland. These are presently do by CEO David Smith & iii more sons of Julian Smith.

SBG has experimented by utilizing using the focused news agency known as News Central that provides pre-packaged news segments for distribution to many of the class action's stations. These segments come integrated into programming when you took local news broadcasts. Mark Hyman, a high-high-level executive at SBG, likewise creates conservative editorial segments called "The Point" that come broadcast in tons of the class action's 62 stations. Additionally, virtually all of the stations that air "News Central" emulate a pre-packaged news studio appearance for local stories. When of Fall 2005, a NewsCentral effort has proven to exist as abortive around a select couple SBG markets, attracting as well few viewers to become profitable. Following, a few local newscasts & local news staffs keep close at hand been either reduced or even eliminated.

Nightline controversy
Within 2004, the media class action attracted arguing whenever it decided that eight ABC stations it owned would non become allowed to broadcast an April 30 airing of a Nightline tribute to the 721 soldiers killed in the 2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq.

the class action issued a statement that said around section, "The action appears to be motivated by a political agenda designed to undermine the efforts of the United States in Iraq." ABC responded, saying that a program was intended to exist as an expression of respect which tries to honor people world health organization keep around placed down their exists for this united states."

For differing reasons, the decision to not air the episode attracted criticism both from supporters and opponents of the Iraq war. Affected stations were in the markets in the following areas:

Columbus, Ohio; St. Louis, Missouri; Charleston, West Virginia; Pensacola, Florida; Springfield, Massachusetts; Asheville, North Carolina; and Greensboro, North Carolina.

WTXL in Tallahassee, Florida, owned by Media Venture Management and part of an outsourcing agreement with SBG, decided to air the program. In other affected areas, a number of independent stations stepped into the breach to air the broadcast.

Kerry film controversy
In October 2004, it was reported that Sinclair would order all 62 of its affiliate stations to preempt prime time programming to air Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal, a documentary critical of U.S. presidential candidate John Kerry's anti-Vietnam War activism, just two weeks before the November 2 election. [http://money.cnn.com/2004/10/12/news/newsmakers/sinclair_kerry/] The film was produced by Carlton Sherwood, a former associate of Tom Ridge, and accuses John Kerry of prolonging the Vietnam War because of his anti-war activism. The organization Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, an anti-Kerry organization whose name become well known in the 2004 election year, was cross-promoting the film as part of a $1.4 million advertising campaign. [http://www.washingtondispatch.com/culture/archives/000649.html]

In response, the Democratic National Committee filed a legal motion with the Federal Election Commission stating that it is inappropriate for the media organization to air "partizan propaganda" in the last 10 days of an election campaign. [http://www.democrats.org/news/200410110001.html]

Sinclair fired its Washington bureau chief Jon Leiberman, stating he revealed company business when he publicly discussed the documentary in an interview published October 18th in the Baltimore Sun.

Accusations of Misinformation

On August 30, 2005, in the program "A Point", Sinclair commentator Mark Hyman falsely claimed that Social Security discriminiates against minorities, wheras the truth is that some minorities have longer life expectancies after retirement than whites[http://mediamatters.org/items/200508300006].

He also falsely claimed that spouses who worked for less than 10 years because they "gave higher [their] career sequentially to raise the personal... acquire diddly-diddly"[http://www.newscentral.tv/uploads/franchise/point/point-20050830.shtml]. In fact, married Social Security recipients are eligible for all the benefits that they have earned for themselves, and, in addition, if those benefits are less than half of what their spouse receives, they also receive spousal benefits that increase their overall benefits to an amount equal to half their partner's benefit, plus survivor benefits.[http://mediamatters.org/items/200508310003]

Stations operated by SBG
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