Union representing news anchors opposes Sinclair campaign for questioning ‘journalistic integrity’

SAG-AFTRA, the union representing some Sinclair Broadcast Group employees, issued a memo Wednesday defending news anchors who are under scrutiny for reading a promo warning viewers of media bias.

Variety reported that the union reached out to Sinclair to express concerns about the campaign, which had anchors at Sinclair stations across the country reading the same scripted statement about the rise of unsubstantiated news stories.

“SAG-AFTRA has been in contact with Sinclair to express our concerns with this campaign, and we stand with our members and journalists everywhere in challenging corporate directives that call into question the journalistic integrity of the news presented to the public,” the memo states. 

{mosads}The union went on to say that criticism of the anchors who read the promos is “misdirected.”

SAG-AFTRA represents more than 160,000 journalists and members of the entertainment industry. It represents dozens of local news stations, including multiple Sinclair-owned operations.

News anchors at Sinclair stations across the country have read scripted segments in recent weeks in which they say that they are “concerned about the troubling trend of irresponsible, one-sided news stories plaguing our country,” and warn of an “extremely dangerous” threat to democracy.

Critics slammed the Sinclair promos after they went viral over the weekend via a compilation made by Deadspin.

Scott Livingston, Sinclair’s senior vice president of news, wrote in an internal memo to company employees that the promos showed the stations’ commitment to community news, and were intended to focus on unsubstantiated stories.

Livingston brushed aside criticism, calling the segments a “well-researched journalistic initiative focused on fair and objective reporting.”