Sinclair's News Central provides steady diet of pro-Bush, anti-progressive news

As part of the news package it supplies to the 62 TV stations it owns or operates, Sinclair Broadcast Group provides a segment called "Get This." "Get This" gives viewers a steady stream of pro-Bush and anti-progressive news items, as well as reports that make light of such topics as the Ku Klux Klan and the recent major assault on Fallujah, Iraq. "Get This" is created by News Central, Sinclair's Maryland-based nerve center that provides national and international news coverage, as well as commentary, to its stations. Presented each weeknight by Sinclair News Central anchorsJennifer Gladstone or Morris Jones, "Get This" purports to cover "the news items that deserve public attention that you probably won't see anywhere else. They either won't make time for them, or maybe the issues are too 'sensitive' for their audience." According to News Central's website, "Get This" claims to "play no favorites." But while the segment features many humorous or lighthearted stories, the overall issue selection conveys a conservative agenda, focusing on topics such as Democrats' alleged inability to deal with electoral defeat; liberal college professors; author and documentarian Michael Moore's comments; and even President George W. Bush's pets. Media Matters for America examined all "Get This" segments that have aired since the November 2 presidential election and found that many of the news items either explicitly promoted Republicans or ridiculed and demeaned Democrats and progressives. Other "Get This" segments made light of serious issues facing the United States. [more]