04 July 17 PM
John Oliver Warns of Conservative Takeover of Unbiased Local News
Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone
Kreps writes: "John Oliver looked at the troubling conservative takeover of unbiased local news broadcasts on Last Week Tonight."
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Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone
Kreps writes: "John Oliver looked at the troubling conservative takeover of unbiased local news broadcasts on Last Week Tonight."
READ MORE
"With Sinclair [Broadcast Group], they're injecting Fox-worthy content into the mouths of your local news anchors," host says on 'Last Week Tonight'
ohn Oliver looked at the troubling conservative takeover of unbiased local news broadcasts on Last Week Tonight.
Our main story tonight concerns the potential problems in corporate consolidation of local news, don't you dare change the channel," Oliver warned.
"Sinclair [Broadcast Group] may be the most influential media company that you've never heard of: Not only are they the largest owner of local TV stations in the country, they could soon get ever bigger," Oliver said, referring to Sinclair's $4 billion acquisition of Tribune Media's 42 local stations.
Last Week Tonight discovered that when you combine the most watched nightly newscasts on Sinclair/Tribune stations in their largest market, the average total viewership is 2.2 million households, which easily trumps any nightly news shows on Fox News.
Oliver's issue with Sinclair is that they feed their stations conservative-leaning opinion segments, including one hosted by noted lying Trump associate Boris Epstein.
"If the opinions were confined just to the commentary and the ad breaks, that would be one thing," Oliver said. "But Sinclair can sometimes dictate the content of the local newscast as well, and in contrast with Fox News – a basically conservative outlet where you know what you're getting – with Sinclair, they're injecting Fox-worthy content into the mouths of your local news anchors."
Oliver showed a montage of Sinclair-owned newscasts reading a company-issued script in defense of former national security adviser Michael Flynn. Often, these scripts and segments – including Epstein and the fearmongering "Terrorist Alert Desk" – are "must-runs" that Sinclair demands make it to the broadcast.
Some of the Sinclair stations are rebelling against their parent company, like Seattle's KOMO, who air the more controversial "must-runs" in the 4 a.m. hour. However, the Tribune merger threatens to spread the company's agenda even further into more markets.
Last Week Tonight then aired a "must-run" – starring The Sopranos' Steve Schirippa – that Tribune companies can broadcast to warn their viewers of the impending Sinclair takeover. "If this becomes a Sinclair station, good luck with that shit," the actor says.
http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/44499-john-oliver-warns-of-conservative-takeover-of-unbiased-local-news
Criminal Justice Reform Is Coming and There Is Nothing Jeff Sessions Can Do About It
Isaac Chotiner, Slate
Chotiner writes: "In a new collection of essays, Policing the Black Man: Arrest, Prosecution, and Imprisonment, Angela J. Davis gathers contributions from scholars and academics to examine the disadvantaged position from which black Americans are forced to navigate the criminal justice system."
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Isaac Chotiner, Slate
Chotiner writes: "In a new collection of essays, Policing the Black Man: Arrest, Prosecution, and Imprisonment, Angela J. Davis gathers contributions from scholars and academics to examine the disadvantaged position from which black Americans are forced to navigate the criminal justice system."
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Court Rules Florida's New Stand-Your-Ground Law Is Unconstitutional
Lindsay Gibbs, ThinkProgress
Gibbs writes: "Last month, Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL) signed a controversial update to the 'Stand Your Ground' law, which put the full impetus on prosecutors to disprove a self-defense claim during a pre-trial hearing."
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Lindsay Gibbs, ThinkProgress
Gibbs writes: "Last month, Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL) signed a controversial update to the 'Stand Your Ground' law, which put the full impetus on prosecutors to disprove a self-defense claim during a pre-trial hearing."
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Gitmo Detainees Get Russian State TV From US Military
Spencer Ackerman, The Daily Beast
Ackerman writes: "The secretive wing of Guantanamo Bay reserved for the highest-priority terrorist suspects is an unlikely place for Russian propaganda."
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Spencer Ackerman, The Daily Beast
Ackerman writes: "The secretive wing of Guantanamo Bay reserved for the highest-priority terrorist suspects is an unlikely place for Russian propaganda."
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As Democratic Voters Shift Left, 'Liberal Media' Keep Shifting Right
Adam Johnson, FAIR
Johnson writes: "In the past few years, the Democratic Party's rank and file have shifted left on major issues. From healthcare to legalization of drugs to taxes, the heart of the party has grown more progressive - and, in many instances, overtly socialist in nature."
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Adam Johnson, FAIR
Johnson writes: "In the past few years, the Democratic Party's rank and file have shifted left on major issues. From healthcare to legalization of drugs to taxes, the heart of the party has grown more progressive - and, in many instances, overtly socialist in nature."
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Visas Denied for All-Girl Afghanistan Robotics Team Competing in US
Emily Tillett, CBS News
Tillett writes: "An all-girl robotics team from Afghanistan's plans to compete in the U.S. were upended after their visas were quickly denied by the U.S. embassy in Kabul."
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Emily Tillett, CBS News
Tillett writes: "An all-girl robotics team from Afghanistan's plans to compete in the U.S. were upended after their visas were quickly denied by the U.S. embassy in Kabul."
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'We've Made History': Ireland Joins France, Germany and Bulgaria in Banning Fracking
Lorraine Chow, EcoWatch
Chow writes: "Ireland is set to ban onshore fracking after its Senate passed legislation on Wednesday that outlawed the controversial drilling technique."
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Lorraine Chow, EcoWatch
Chow writes: "Ireland is set to ban onshore fracking after its Senate passed legislation on Wednesday that outlawed the controversial drilling technique."
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