Sinclair Broadcasting. “Propaganda Masquerading As Media.” Right Wing Power Grab Exposed
Quick Read
Summary
Takeaways
- ❖Sinclair Broadcasting, led by David Smith, is actively using its local media holdings (e.g., Baltimore Sun, Fox affiliates) to promote a right-wing political agenda.
- ❖This agenda specifically targets Black elected officials and progressive policies, aiming to dilute Black political power in cities like Baltimore.
- ❖Sinclair's media outlets are accused of running biased investigations and negative stories against figures like Mayor Brandon Scott, Governor Wes Moore, and former prosecutor Marilyn Mosby.
- ❖Propaganda tactics include sensationalizing individual crime incidents to create a perception of rampant violence and demonizing successful community-based violence intervention programs.
- ❖The host draws parallels to Rupert Murdoch's strategy, noting how Black content on platforms like Tubi (owned by Fox) inadvertently funds right-wing media empires.
- ❖To combat this, communities need increased media literacy, strategic boycotts of advertisers on biased platforms, and robust support for Black-owned and independent media.
Insights
1Sinclair Broadcasting's Targeted Political Agenda in Local Media
Sinclair Broadcasting, under executive chairman David Smith, is actively using its significant ownership of local television stations and newspapers, such as the Baltimore Sun, to advance a specific right-wing political agenda. This strategy involves direct intervention in editorial content to target Black political leaders and progressive policies.
David Smith, owner of the Baltimore Sun and executive chairman of Sinclair, explicitly stated in 2018 that his job is to 'carry Trump's message into people's homes.' Sinclair's outlets have been observed 'specifically target[ing] African-Americans' in Baltimore, including Mayor Brandon Scott and Governor Wes Moore, with biased investigations and negative coverage.
2Weaponizing Local News to Undermine Black Political Power
Sinclair's media strategy involves creating narratives that demonize Black leadership and community-led initiatives, thereby aiming to diminish Black political power and influence. This is achieved through selective reporting, sensationalizing crime, and discrediting successful programs that challenge conservative ideologies.
The Baltimore Sun and local Fox affiliates attacked Mayor Brandon Scott throughout his election, despite his significant win and a 'huge reduction' in crime. They also launched an investigative team to 'comb through Governor Wes Moore's records' with questions about his army service and scholarship. Sinclair's outlets are 'vehemently opposed' to policies like modifying the automatic charging of youth as adults, framing supporters as 'complicit with harm.' David Smith personally invested in a ballot question to reduce the Baltimore City Council size, which would have 'dilute[d] black political power.'
3The Pernicious Nature of Local Media Propaganda
Local news, often consumed passively by a broad audience, serves as a particularly effective vehicle for propaganda. Its perceived neutrality allows politically motivated content to subtly shape public opinion, especially among less politically engaged individuals, making it a powerful tool for ideological influence.
The guest explains that local news is consumed by people 'getting up in the morning,' 'cooking dinner,' making it a 'pernicious kind of propaganda' because it's absorbed in the background. 'The average person is not paying a whole bunch of attention' to broader political narratives, making local corporate media highly influential in shaping their opinions.
4Black Content Inadvertently Funds Right-Wing Media Empires
Black audiences, by consuming content on platforms owned by right-wing media moguls, inadvertently contribute to the financial success that enables these moguls to fund and execute their ideological agendas against Black communities.
Rupert Murdoch, who launched Fox News, used 'black shows to build the network' (e.g., 'In Living Color,' 'Martin'). Currently, 'black people are loving Tubi,' which is 'owned by Fox Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachland Murdoch.' Black content and viewership on Tubi are driving it to be a 'billion-dollar streaming company,' with these 'eyeballs... driving the ratings which drive the revenue,' which then allows owners to 'execut[e] their ideological policy positions.'
Bottom Line
The 'accidental' inclusion of David Smith, the owner of the Baltimore Sun, on an email chain attempting to recall a critical email from an investigative reporter, reveals direct, hands-on control and coordination of politically motivated investigations, contradicting claims of journalistic independence.
This incident exposes the direct involvement of media owners in editorial decisions and political targeting, demonstrating that the 'news' is not a neutral product but a tool for a specific agenda. It undermines public trust in the integrity of local journalism when ownership is actively directing investigations against political opponents.
Independent journalistic watchdogs and media literacy initiatives can use such documented instances to educate the public about media ownership biases and the mechanisms of propaganda, fostering a more discerning audience and demanding greater transparency from news organizations.
The strategy of right-wing media involves not just negative coverage, but also the demonization of public resource allocation to Black-led grassroots organizations, framing them as 'inherently criminal' to justify defunding and redirecting capital.
This tactic directly impacts the economic empowerment and self-determination of Black communities. By discrediting organizations responsible for tangible progress (e.g., crime reduction), it creates a pretext to cut funding, hindering community development and reinforcing systemic inequalities by limiting access to public capital, which is a primary resource for Black businesses and initiatives.
Advocates can proactively highlight the proven successes and financial accountability of Black-led organizations, using data and community testimonials to counter negative narratives. This also creates an opportunity for Black-owned media to provide platforms for these organizations to tell their own stories and secure alternative funding streams that are less susceptible to political manipulation.
Lessons
- Cultivate media literacy by actively questioning the political agenda and ownership biases of news sources, regardless of platform size, to discern underlying slants.
- Support Black-owned and independent media outlets by subscribing, watching, and engaging with their content to create alternative, community-focused information ecosystems.
- Boycott advertisers on media platforms (e.g., Sinclair-owned stations, Baltimore Sun) that are actively targeting Black communities or promoting divisive, biased narratives, impacting their revenue.
- Pressure elected officials to enact policies that impact the bottom line of biased media companies and their affiliates, moving beyond defensive reactions to proactive legislative action.
- Utilize social media and digital platforms to proactively disseminate positive narratives and factual updates about community progress and government initiatives, beating biased media to the punch and building a loyal audience.
Countering Right-Wing Media Influence in Black Communities
**Enhance Media Literacy:** Educate community members on how to identify media bias, understand ownership structures, and recognize propaganda tactics in local and national news.
**Support Independent & Black-Owned Media:** Redirect viewership, subscriptions, and advertising dollars to media outlets that provide balanced, community-focused reporting and are not controlled by entities with opposing political agendas.
**Economic Pressure via Boycotts:** Organize targeted boycotts of advertisers on platforms identified as promoting harmful narratives. Publicize these boycotts to maximize impact on the media companies' revenue streams.
**Advocate for Policy Changes:** Engage with elected officials to push for policies that regulate media ownership, ensure journalistic ethics, or financially impact media companies that engage in biased reporting and political targeting.
**Proactive Narrative Control:** Local governments and community organizations should invest in their own media channels (social media, websites, local journalists) to proactively share accurate information, highlight community successes, and counter false narratives before they take hold.
Notable Moments
A Baltimore Sun reporter, Madlin O'Neal, was fired after complaining in a public Slack channel that the paper published an 'old' and 'incomplete' story from Sinclair's TV outlet targeting Marilyn Mosby, stating, 'I see almost no difference between The Sun and the local Sinclair station.'
This incident directly illustrates the alleged editorial interference by Sinclair's ownership, the erosion of journalistic independence at the Baltimore Sun post-acquisition, and the internal dissent among journalists who recognize the shift towards a politically motivated agenda.
David Smith, owner of the Baltimore Sun, was caught attempting to recall an email from an investigative reporter, accidentally including Governor Wes Moore's team in the recall attempt, despite not being 'visibly included on the original emails.'
This 'smoking gun' moment provides direct evidence of the owner's hands-on involvement in politically motivated investigations, contradicting any claims of journalistic arms-length management and exposing the coordinated effort to target political figures.
David Smith personally funded a ballot question to reduce the size of the Baltimore City Council from 14 to 8 districts, ostensibly for 'efficiency,' but which would have made it 'easier to buy off' officials and 'dilute black political power.'
This reveals a direct, non-media-related political maneuver by the media owner aimed at structurally weakening Black political representation, demonstrating that media control is part of a broader, multi-faceted strategy to reshape local governance.
Quotes
"His job is to carry Trump's message into people's uh people's homes. He owns 40% of those local news companies. And it's important for people to be clear that that is a particular kind of pernitious propaganda."
"I see almost no difference between The Sun and the local Sinclair station, another staffer said, other than the fact that there are some people at the Sun who predate the sale."
"Black people who are put folks, they're putting their shows, putting their movies. Oh my god. Tubby Tuby Tubby Tub is on his way to being a billiondoll streaming co company because of black content they are using."
Q&A
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