Sinclair local affiliates
U.S. right
Background
Sinclair was founded in Baltimore in 1971 by Julian Sinclair Smith and grew through aggressive acquisition of local TV stations starting in the 1990s and 2000s, becoming the largest local-TV station owner in the country by the 2010s. It is still run by the Smith family, led by executive chairman David Smith, who holds a controlling block of voting stock despite the company's public listing. Sinclair gained national attention in 2018 when dozens of its local news anchors were required to read an identical script warning about 'biased and false news' in the media, a script widely seen as echoing Trump administration talking points, which drew bipartisan criticism and renewed scrutiny of its 'must-run' segments. The company has long required affiliates to air centrally produced commentary, including conservative-leaning segments from figures like Boris Epshteyn, alongside standard local news, weather, and sports coverage produced by each station's own staff. A 2018 attempt to acquire Tribune Media and become even larger was blocked by the FCC over concerns about false statements in the deal and excessive market concentration. Sinclair has donated heavily to Republican candidates and causes, and media watchdog groups including Media Matters and the Columbia Journalism Review have documented a persistent conservative tilt in its corporate-mandated content, even as individual local newscasts generally maintain more traditional, nonpartisan formats for local news, weather, sports, and traffic.
Sources
- Sinclair, Inc. company overview
- Sinclair Broadcast Group forced dozens of local news anchors to parrot Trump-ally script
- FCC blocks Sinclair-Tribune merger
- Media Matters: Sinclair Broadcast Group profile
Profile compiled 2026-10-02; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.