An anchor for a Sinclair Broadcast Group-owned station in Texas said it was “awful” having to record the messages decrying “fake news” and “media bias.”
“Trust me, this was awful,” WOAI anchor Delaine Mathieu wrote on Facebook, according to My San Antonio.
“We had several closed-door meetings and even had to re-record our version because we looked so mortified in the first cut,” she said, referring to herself and Randy Beamer, the chief anchor at the station.
{mosads}She made the comments in response to a critic on Facebook, who shared a story about Sinclair’s move to require its anchors to read aloud a promotional message warning against “fake stories” in other media outlets.
The Facebook user, Lola Crane, said she used to think Beamer was “pretty cool,” but changed her mind.
“Not an ounce of integrity, turns out he’s just a puppet,” Crane. “You too Delaine Mathieu. Shame on you News 4 San Antonio!”
Mathieu added in response that it “sucks” that she had to read the messages.
“We gathered our composure and did our job knowing this would happen,” she wrote, according to My San Antonio. “It sucks. It just does. You will make your judgment and I can’t change that. But I wish you well!”
Sinclair has been facing backlash over the past several days after a clip of local news anchors reading the same speech about media bias went viral.
The promos have since gained national attention and scrutiny.
Earlier this week, the producer of a morning show at a Sinclair-owned station in Nebraska resigned in protest of the network’s “obvious bias.”
A Sinclair executive this week defended the promos, saying they were “focused on fact-based reporting” and showed the company’s “commitment to our communities.”
President Trump also took to Twitter earlier this week to defend Sinclair.