It's quite obvious that the industry is not reacting well to Sinclair forcing their anchors to read nothing but straight up propaganda and Donald Trump taking points. 

But what about the viewers? What do they think? 

Here are some viewers that wrote letters to their local papers to give their thoughts on what Sinclair did. 

From Portland: 

Can we trust our local news to bring us fair, unbiased reporting?

Sinclair Broadcasting, the owner of KATU News, is creating that question in the minds of viewers by mandating that news anchors in more than 200 local markets read messages supporting a pro-Trump agenda. The company also requires these stations to air "Terrorism Alert" and "Bottom Line" segments skewing the stories toward anti-media, fear-inciting and far-right messaging.

I, for one, will be changing the channel. It is heartbreaking to see Steve Dunn and Deb Knapp forced to read Sinclair Broadcasting messages. For me, it calls into question the independence and fairness of our local KATU reporting.

Deborah Hamilton, Tigard

From Bakersfield: 

Sinclair Broadcasting Group has definitely crossed the line with their programmed “editorial” that was force-read by their anchors across the nation, including here in Bakersfield.

The danger here is what it portends for the future of news in general, especially at the local level. KBAK-TV had already lost two of the best TV news journalists we had — Carol Ferguson and Jose Gaspar — before the strong corporate arm came down and dictated the actual words that would be read by local talent.

We may be entering a new era of journalism, one in which up-and-coming anchors and reporters are nothing more than “actors,” willing to read anything put before them. Well, it’s a paying gig, right? So a question isn’t as much as why did local anchors agree to do this, but will that even matter to those who will be hired down the line? The essential nature of journalism is rapidly changing, and it is not good.

— Paul Linfesty, Bakersfield

From Albany, NY:

The recent broadcast of Liz Bishop reading the warped commentary provided (and mandated) by WRGB’s parent company, the Sinclair Broadcast Group, was the final nail in the Channel 6 coffin in our house.

Using fake news to promote an anti-fake news diatribe was, in their own words, “extremely dangerous to our democracy.”

WRGB, you’re fired.

Lyn Kucij
John Kucij