News executives at Nexstar, E.W. Scripps, Sinclair, Fox Television Stations and ABC Owned Stations told a TVNewsCheck panel last week that collaborating more frequently between stations and their national news products is yielding important lessons about people and tech, not to mention better quality news.
Leaders from E.W. Scripps, Sinclair, Fox Television Stations, ABC Owned Television Stations, Nexstar and Avid will discuss how cross-group collaborations and content sharing have ushered in a new era of efficiencies and content ROI at TVNewsCheck’s TV2025: Monetizing the Future Conference at the NAB Show New York on Oct. 25. Register here.
Critics are calling Sinclair’s promos pro-Trump propaganda. Now the company is defending the initiative, and calling it something much more mundane: A “corporate news journalistic responsibility promotional campaign.”
The longtime newsman has been with Sinclair since 1991. The company’s CEO Chris Ripley said: “As we expand our local newscasts to 24/7 content centers and reach consumers on multiple devices and platforms, Scott will play a key role in leading our bright future of mobility, social and direct-to-consumer.”
Sinclair’s VP for news, Scott Livingston, says he understands why some people may be concerned that the company asked top managers to contribute to the company’s Political Action Committee, but he says he does not believe it is a journalistic conflict of interest. “I do understand the concern but I don’t believe this compromises our journalistic integrity. Our local stations don’t cover the ins and outs of the broadcast regulatory reform.” And, Livingston said, the political action committee is “working to save local broadcasting.”
Sinclair’s VP of News Scott Livingston defended the company and lashed out against what he called “biased” news organizations that have “an agenda to destroy our reputation” in an internal memo obtained by Politico.
Exclusives
Sinclair May Be On The Wrong News Path
Sinclair is building a national TV news organization and there is a lot to like about that. Unfortunately, what’s emerging is one with a conservative bent. If Sinclair wants to give its stations a push to the right that is certainly its prerogative, but I would hope it would not go that route.
Combining broadcast, Internet and social media technologies, a new news segment, Connect to Congress, offers Sinclair’s local market viewers “new ways to get answers to questions from their members of Congress.
Pick The Brains Of Station Group News Pros
The annual NewsTECHForum from TVNewsCheck and Sports Video Group will begin Dec. 14. A gathering of leading TV station group news executives will address operational and technical challenges that news pros face in covering stories, particularly big breaking stories, as well as how local TV news can 
compete with — and take advantage of 
— digital media. The TV Station Group Perspective panel features Scott Livingston, VP of news, Sinclair; Barbara Maushard, VP of news, Hearst; Bart Feder, VP of news, Tribune Broadcasting; and David Friend, SVP, news, CBS TV Stations. For more information on NewsTECHForum and to register, click here.
The group owner promotes the news director of its WBFF Baltimore to lead news operations at its 41 news-producing stations.
