Sinclair responds to criticism of media-bashing promos

Critics are calling Sinclair's promos pro-President Donald Trump propaganda. Now the company is defending the initiative, and calling it something much more mundane: A "corporate news journalistic responsibility promotional campaign." Sinclair senior vice president of news Scott Livingston is defending the promos as a "well-researched journalistic initiative focused on fair and objective reporting." In an internal memo, Livingston slammed what he called "misleading, often defamatory stories" about the company. "For the record, the stories we are referencing in this campaign are the unsubstantiated ones (i.e. fake/false) like 'Pope Endorses Trump' which move quickly across social media and result in an ill-informed public," he wrote in Monday's memo. "Some other false stories, like the false 'Pizzagate' story, can result in dangerous consequences. We are focused on fact-based reporting. That's our commitment to our communities."