SPOKANE, Wash. – A viral post on Twitter Monday morning incorrectly identified the Spokane, Washington CBS station as being owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group.
KREM 2 is the CBS station in Spokane and is not affiliated with Sinclair in any way. We are owned by TEGNA Inc., a national company with stations in about 40 other cities across the U.S.
Sinclair Broadcast Group does own KLEW, the Lewiston, Idaho CBS station. Lewiston is not typically considered its own television market and was listed as Spokane on the Sinclair website, though an interactive map does indicate it is in Lewiston.
Below is the aforementioned tweet:
Recently, Sinclair Broadcast Group has come under fire from critics after their on-air staff were required to read an on-air promotional message that warned viewers about "false news" on competing media outlets.
Dozens of stations belonging to the nation's largest broadcaster have aired video promotions in the last few weeks in which their local on-air news hosts voice concerns about "the troubling trend of irresponsible, one-sided news stories plaguing our country." The anchors then go on to say that many media outlets are publishing "fake stories" and pushing agendas.
Many former employees have reported to other media outlets they are often given instructions to run specific reports and editorials called “must-runs.”
TEGNA does do not engage in this practice and at KREM 2, local leadership has the final say about what stories and editorials make it to air.
The man, @WillDonnelly aka “Facts Do Matter,” who tweeted out the list earlier today did tweet a correction, but incorrectly referred to KLEW as KLEM.
