Sinclair Is Allowing Anti-Sinclair Ads To Run With One Huge, Creepy Exception

Sinclair Broadcasting Group became the subject of scrutiny last week after it was discovered that the company was forcing anchors at the nearly 200 stations it owns to read a canned script warning viewers of “biased and false news” — echoing one of Trump’s favorite shouting points. But even as anonymous employees began coming out of the woodwork to confirm the company’s practices, Sinclair did not back down, defending criticism of a “political agenda.”

In the wake of all this, the consumer watchdog organization Allied Progress came up with the above anti-Sinclair ad it planned to run on four Sinclair stations with a six-figure, one-week ad buy starting April 6, to warn of Sinclair acquiring even more stations in a proposed merger with Tribune Media.

When all was said and done, Sinclair allowed the 30 second spots to run with one huge caveat — that they would be sandwiches by pro-Sinclair ads hoping to discredit the messaging. Before an Allied ad runs, viewers are first subjected to the following messaging in a 15 second spot:

“This station, which is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, is proud to present both sides of issues. For that reason, we have agreed to air the commercial you are about to see, opposing Sinclair’s acquisition of additional television stations. We think the ad is misleading, but wanted to let you decide. Thank you.”

And then this 15 second spot airs immediately following Allied’s ad:

“The misleading ad you just saw focused on a brief promotional message that simply said we’re a source for truthful news,” the Sinclair voiceover says. “It ignored thousands of hours of local news we produce each year to keep you informed. The ad was purchased by a group known for its liberal bias, and we hope you won’t buy into the hysteria and hype.”

Typically when a shady practice is exposed, a company might make an attempt at PR but Sinclair is only doubling down with these spots. “They defend forcing anchors to parrot the anti-media talking point and attack Allied Progress,” Allied Progress executive director Karl Frisch told CNN.

You can watch the original exposé from Deadspin, below:

(Via CNN)