Pressure of Truth
The news, with the spin made visible.
Outlet profile

WLOS (Asheville)

U.S. right-center

Owned bySinclair Broadcast Group (publicly traded broadcasting company; acquired WLOS in 1996); operates a local duopoly with WMYA-TV (MyNetworkTV affiliate in Anderson, SC)
FundingCommercial advertising revenue; Sinclair is a publicly traded company (NASDAQ: SBGI)
On the administrationmixed

Background

WLOS-TV launched on September 18, 1954, founded by the Skyway Broadcasting Corporation, which also operated WLOS radio (on air since 1947). The station quickly became an ABC affiliate and is now the second-longest-tenured primary ABC affiliate south of Washington, D.C. Wometco Enterprises acquired the station in 1958, and private-equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts took Wometco private in a leveraged buyout in 1984. The Robert M. Bass Group's AnchorMedia purchased WLOS-TV for $50 million in 1987. Sinclair Broadcast Group acquired the station in 1996 and has owned it since. Sinclair has drawn sustained criticism from media watchdogs — including Media Matters, FAIR, and Media Bias/Fact Check — for mandating conservative-leaning 'must-run' segments across its stations and for editorial decisions that align with Republican positions. A notable recent episode: in 2025, Sinclair pulled Jimmy Kimmel Live! from its ABC affiliates, including WLOS, after Kimmel made remarks following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, demanding an apology and donations to Kirk's family and Turning Point USA before restoring the show in late September 2025. At the local level, WLOS's newscasts are rated right-center biased with high factual credibility by Media Bias/Fact Check, and the station regularly covers Western North Carolina community news, weather, and local politics without a pronounced editorial voice.

Sources

  1. WLOS – Wikipedia
  2. WLOS (ABC13News) – Bias and Credibility – Media Bias/Fact Check
  3. Sinclair Broadcast Group – Wikipedia
  4. Sinclair Broadcast Group – Bias and Credibility – Media Bias/Fact Check
  5. WLOS won't return 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' to air following ABC's decision to end suspension – Asheville Watchdog
  6. Sinclair Ends 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' Boycott – Variety
  7. How Sinclair Sneaks Right-Wing Spin Into Millions of Households – FAIR
  8. FCC Public Inspection Files – WLOS Station Information

Profile compiled 2026-07-03; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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