133 Comments

The consolidation of local media into the hands of right wing outfits like Sinclair does not serve the public interest. Sinclair’s policies do not serve the public interest. You’re doing a great job! Keep it up!

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Now if DOJ would just use the anti-trust powers it already has to breakup overly-concentrated markets.

Would this be a bad time to suggest punitive and confiscatory taxation on the very wealthy? When Ike was president, the highest marginal tax rate in the United States was 91% on income over $1,000,000; since conservatives want to take the country back to the 50's...

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Edward, Sounds like a perfect plan to me! 👍🏼

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Well said Joe!

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That means you hit a nerve. Keep reporting on these bastards. Sinclair is Fox or Murdoch 2.0

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Exactly. This is why I'm proud to support Judd and P.I. Journalism that gets results and helps redress the balance towards honesty, sanity, and decency.

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founding

Sinclair is right! This is "outrageous and offensive" reporting FROM SINCLAIR that Popular Information brings to light! THIS is what Judd Legum contributes to journalism!

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Keep up the great work! Just one more example of news organizations failing in their responsibility to report real facts, data, information, events..boring or not... and not to intentionally shape opinion to fit owners ' or investors' biases and political agendas. These actors are creating an America where too many people just don't know the truth.

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A hit dog will holler!

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As the venerable John Lewis would say, you have gotten in some good trouble! Keep up the good work.

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And “If you see something, say something!”

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Great reporting, Judd! Could you please share the list of Sinclair-owned affiliate stations, with their catchment areas (towns) so we know what we’re watching? I can then amplify the list via my friends / groups, for example. Thank you!

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Very cool to see Popular Information get the recognition it has earned. Thank you for your labor & service, Judd!

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Ok? I tout P.I. every chance I get!

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Outstanding reporting. Thank you.

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If Sinclair is screaming you know you hit the nail right on the head. Keep them whining.

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founding

Thank you PI! Apparently you've hit a nerve...fantastic job!

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Good work Judd. You know you've hit the target when they yell Ouch! so loudly. Hit them again...they're corrupt as hell.

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Your and Aaron's newsletters are a critical part of my daily routine. Thank you for doing such a great job exposing these things. In 2021 I bought a Honda, not a Toyota, as a direct result of your reporting about Toyota's financial support of the J6 traitors.

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YES thank you for being part of this story. We need this more than ever. The radical far right crazies are being supported by big buck$ . So dumb down the public’s schools , attack higher education , control the media and the message , restrict access to voting , spread false information , attack science , gerrymander various groups out of representation , rewrite historical facts , and lie and manipulate and threaten and all to assist the most unqualified person ever to hold and run for the presidency. WHY?

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Good work! Thank you.

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From Wikipedia about David Smith…

From 1971 to 1978, Smith worked at WBFF (run by his father), in charge of maintenance operations.[7] He devised a plan for "selling pornographic videos in Baltimore's red-light district during the 1970s."[8] He founded Comark Communications in 1978.[9]

In 1985, WBFF was rebranded, with two other stations, as Sinclair.[7] David Smith served as the chief executive officer and president of Sinclair Television Group, Inc. from 1988 to January 2017.[10] He "built Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. into the largest owner of television stations in the U.S.,"[10] and he was profiled by The New York Times in 1998.[11] He has served as its executive chairman of SBGI since January 1, 2017. It has been reported that every news station under Sinclair's umbrella is required to syndicate commentary that comports with its owners' ideological views.[12][1]

In September 2013, his shareholding in SBGI was valued at $268 million.[5] His total calculated compensation was $5,206,439 as of fiscal year 2016.[9]

In an August 1996 prostitution sting, Smith was charged with committing an "unnatural and perverted sex act" (oral sex) in a Sinclair company vehicle. He was sentenced to community service, which was fulfilled by having Sinclair station WBFF produce reports on a local drug counseling program.[13][14]

Prior to Ajit Pai's appointment as chairman of the FCC, Smith had met with Pai to discuss deregulation of the FCC's media ownership rules. This meeting, plus Sinclair having been granted additional access to Donald Trump's presidential campaign, resulted in accusations that Sinclair was currying favor with the Trump administration in exchange for deregulation of the industry.[15][16][17] David Smith met with Donald Trump during the 2016 election year, in which he told Mr. Trump, "We are here to deliver your message."[3]

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This makes the National Enquirer pals of trump look like choir boys.

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This is great! Thanks for posting it.

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Wow! Just wow! Yet "another brick in the wall." Thank you for that information. He helps put more pieces of the "puzzle" together; why trump often doesn't receive the negative press that he should receive, on his " word salads," yet Biden does on an occasional " gaffe;" yet little on anything good the Biden administration's done for America. You have to hunt for

that information.

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