Sinclair Broadcasting Group, which owns 193 stations nationwide, gave all of their local news stations a memo “must run” mandatory order to read a P.S.A. to their viewers warning them of the corporation’s perceived theory of the proliferation of fake news from networks and digital venues that they did not bother to cite. To be more precise, media and digital news outlets and venues that they don’t run.

Initially exposed by one of Trump’s news media nemeses, CNN, Sinclair calls this memo their command “anchor delivered journalistic responsibility message.”

Hi, I’m(A) ____________, and I’m (B) _________________…

(B) Our greatest responsibility is to serve our Northwest communities. We are extremely proud of the quality, balanced journalism that KOMO News produces.

(A) But we’re concerned about the troubling trend of irresponsible, one sided news stories plaguing our country. The sharing of biased and false news has become all too common on social media.

(B) More alarming, some media outlets publish these same fake stories… stories that just aren’t true, without checking facts first.

(A) 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 a democracy.

(B) At KOMO it’s our responsibility to pursue and report the truth. We understand Truth is neither politically ‘left nor right.’ Our commitment to factual reporting is the foundation of our credibility, now more than ever.

(A) But we are human and sometimes our reporting might fall short. If you believe our coverage is unfair please reach out to us by going to KOMOnews.com and clicking on CONTENT CONCERNS. We value your comments. We will respond back to you.

(B) We work very hard to seek the truth and strive to be fair, balanced and factual… We consider it our honor, our privilege to responsibly deliver the news every day.

(A) Thank you for watching and we appreciate your feedback.

The script propaganda above was leaked from a Seattle TV station that Sinclair owns. But it’s dissemination to the other networks was so synchronized that it caught the attention of Think Progress which compiled other Sinclair station’s news feeds as their news anchors read the companies editorial propaganda.

 

 

 

 

This surreal video portending the potential of a passive fascist state run media was outdone with point blank depiction, remixing and condemnation by the sports website Deadspin.

 

 

 

This video shows not only the obvious irony and projection of Sinclair’s pathetic warning to their viewers about the threats about the networks they target for disseminating misinformation driven by ideological agendas with demagogic accusations inspired by the repetitive words and bilious twitter rants of Figurehead Trump in a deal organized by his daughter’s fucking husband to the media behemoth in his campaign surge to victory that is still being honored to this day. The bigger danger here is the way hundreds of people who have a modicum of celebrity from their TV anchor positions were willing to submit and follow the executive’s insidious and seditious directives to condemn fellow journalists and mislead their audience just to hold on to their jobs.

Sinclair not only wanted to beat their competitors by slandering them but wanted to also send a message that any dissent or disagreement by their employees will lead to retribution. In essence to promote and continue a vile workplace tactic of absolute control exploited by unscrupulous employers. This video and the source inspiring it, the Sinclair memo, is manufacturing obeisance not only among the newscasters reading this with hostage like expressions on their faces but to the general public.

But on the subject at hand, Sinclair’s Order is the most recent case of a history of corporate news media’s hand in manufacturing consent. A few years ago, someone compiled a video of various news networks throughout the nation reading the same weakass news stories with similar scripts as with the Sinclair Order without any variation. Which was pointed out gleefully then distressingly on the Jimmy “Voice Of America” Dore Show.

 

So the warnings were there all along. And now it’s reached the virtual point of return being that Sinclair saw absolutely nothing wrong with what they were doing and are emboldened thanks to the plague-like media consolidation that spread right after Figurehead Bill Clinton signed the Telecommunications Act in 1996  (which Dore pointed out the other day) that has neutered broadcast news ability to inform the public with honesty and integrity in the last 20 years. Exacerbated by the shutting down of long time print publications from the mergers the Act made possible.

Which is why we have an idiot in the White House right now, a willful and defiantly uninformed idiot. When Figurehead Trump heard that Sinclair was getting reamed for issuing their Order touting his moronic talking points and Fake News refrain, he trashed other networks like NBC and CNN on his social media feed, utterly missing the fact that Sinclair is not a network and simulcasts and makes money off of other networks like NBC.

Days after the damning videos and nationwide outrage from the social networks (except from the familiar faces of corporate national news media of course, even NBC), the chairman of Sinclair Broadcasting, David Smith recently blathered to New York magazine that there was no reason for the print media to exist anymore because it’s all fake to him and controlled by lefties. Tripling down on his demented personal quest to render extinct the original base for journalism that made his massive undeserved wealth and current odious influence on Trump possible.

And in a few weeks, Sinclair is about to get FCC permission to buy Tribune Media which owns and runs networks in major cities including New York’s PIX News, whose news broadcasters and programs already look and sound like a dutiful repetitive soft news factory. Which will continue the programming or agenda of preferring processed useless news stories focusing on entertainment and viral videos over stories regarding civic, civil and political issues and injustices.

But the problem with existential demons like Sinclair it’s not just about profits anymore, it’s about power. And information is power as Gareth (UK) and Dwight (US) from The Office once said and to Sinclair, Trump, and established elected officials from both political parties, both of those things shouldn’t be in the hands and minds of the citizenry but in the hands of said insecure, unscrupulous, greedy leaders and corporations. What they want is their viewers and their constituents (what will be left of them) to continue to be ignorant and enslaved yet still able to be accusatory and consume. And utterly dependent on their not at all benevolent masters.

Can’t be any more extremely dangerous to democracy than that.

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