WJLA (Sinclair-owned)

U.S. right-center

Background

WJLA began broadcasting on October 3, 1947, as WMAL-TV, owned by the Washington Star newspaper. Local banker Joseph L. Allbritton acquired the station in the mid-1970s and renamed it WJLA in 1977—using his own initials—after selling the radio licenses to ABC. Allbritton Communications held the station for nearly four decades, during which it also launched what is now the WJLA 24/7 News cable channel (originally NewsChannel 8). In 2014, Sinclair Broadcast Group purchased WJLA and six other Allbritton stations for roughly $985 million, making WJLA one of Sinclair's two flagship properties. Sinclair is the largest owner of local TV stations in the United States and has long been documented as having a conservative editorial tilt: it requires all its stations to air centrally produced 'must-run' political commentary segments, most notably those from Boris Epshteyn, a former Trump White House aide hired as Sinclair's chief political analyst in 2017. A 2019 peer-reviewed study in the American Political Science Review found a measurable rightward ideological slant in story selection and framing across Sinclair-acquired stations. Sinclair has also benefited from favorable FCC regulatory treatment under Trump, and its stations—including WJLA—have provided consistently favorable coverage of Trump administration initiatives in both his first and second terms.

Sources

1. WJLA-TV – Wikipedia
2. Sinclair Broadcast Group – Wikipedia
3. WJLA – ABC 7: Bias and Credibility – Media Bias/Fact Check
4. A comprehensive guide to the relationship between Sinclair Broadcast Group and the Trump administration – Media Matters
5. How Sinclair Sneaks Right-Wing Spin Into Millions of Households – FAIR
6. Sinclair Broadcasting puts a partisan tilt on trusted local news – PBS NewsHour
7. Sinclair's broadcasts focus on fears, aligning with Trump's view of cities – The Washington Post
8. Trump Uses Power of FCC to Pay Back Friends at Sinclair Broadcasting – FAIR

Profile compiled 2026-06-28; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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