Sinclair Broadcast Group forced local news anchors to read identical scripted propaganda segments

When you tune into local news in most American markets, you expect to hear from journalists who know your community. They sit in familiar studios, report on local events, and offer perspective shaped by the place they live. That sense of local accountability has been central to American journalism for decades. In March 2018, that assumption became harder to defend.

Deadspin, a sports and media criticism website, published a video that exposed something unsettling: dozens of news anchors across the country were reading identical scripts, word-for-word, from corporate headquarters. The anchors worked for Sinclair Broadcast Group, the largest television station operator in the United States, controlling 193 stations reaching nearly 40 percent of American households. In the video, anchor after anchor delivered the same warning about "false news" and "fake news," their phrasing so uniform it bordered on absurd.

Sinclair had mandated what it called "must-run" segments—content that local newsrooms were required to broadcast without modification. These weren't just news stories. The company forced stations to air commentary from Boris Epshteyn, a former Trump adviser and conservative political operative, as part of their regular programming. Sinclair also distributed identical "news" segments originating from corporate offices, bypassing the editorial judgment of local journalists who understood their audiences.

When challenged, Sinclair defended the practice as routine corporate stewardship. The company argued that providing content to local stations was standard operating procedure and that anchors maintaining broadcast standards was simply good management. Sinclair suggested critics were overreacting to normal business operations.

But internal documents told a different story. These papers showed Sinclair's corporate headquarters didn't merely suggest content—they dictated it. Station managers and newsroom directors received explicit instructions that certain segments were non-negotiable. Local news directors, who traditionally served as gatekeepers deciding what their communities should know, had their authority systematically undermined. The documents made clear that Sinclair viewed local newsrooms as distribution channels for corporate messaging, not as independent news operations.