EVENTHOUGH SINCLAIR Broadcast Group's local news operations (173 stations in 82 markets) are considered to have a more conservative bent by people in the broadcast industry, it hasn't completely avoided the assault the national media seems to be under these days. Sinclair isn't under fire from President Trump: rather, it was the subject of a Politico story in December alleging the group struck campaign-season deals that gave Trump better coverage-a charge the Society of Professional Journalists subsequently apologized for reprinting. Sinclair made news again in February, when a journalist at its WWMT in Kalamazoo, Mich., was fired after political tweets, which Sinclair said was a violation of policy, not politics. Scott Livingston is the man who winds up dealing with these issues. As Sinclair's VP of news, Livingston oversees the group's 66 local TV news operations-and he is instrumental in setting the strategy behind, and the tone of, the content the stations produce. He spoke with B&C contributing editor Diana Marszalek about why Sinclair is a target for criticism, what the group can do about it and whether or not its stations have an agenda.
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