Here’s a story about “The Time When 193 ‘Local New’ Stations Across the Country Were Given a Script to Read.” Viewers assumed the message was local. It wasn’t. It was centrally distributed propaganda. No. It didn’t happen in Soviet Russia or Mao’s China, it happened in the United States — recently. This is what happens when powerful conglomerates take over our national media.
“A viral video compilation of local TV anchors is raising new concerns about the way Sinclair Broadcasting mixes news with conservative, partisan political opinion. And while it already reaches over a third of homes across the nation, the country’s largest owner of local TV stations is hoping to get bigger. William Brangham reports.” PBS, 2 Apr 2018
PBS Special Report
The Original Viral Video
Here’s the original viral video from Deadspin that was mentioned in the PBS report above.
About Freedom of the Press
The freedom of the press is guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution and is essential for democracy as is explained in the following quote:
“A truly free and independent press is a vital component of any healthy democratic society. […] the prime value of journalism is that it imposes transparency, and thus accountability, on those who wield the greatest governmental and corporate power.” ~ Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras and Jeremy Scahill of The Intercept