Sup! You beautiful bastards, hope you're having a fantastic
Monday welcome back to the Philip DeFranco show and let's just jump into it. And the first thing we're going to talk about today one of
The most requested stories of the day today is this massive story around the Sinclair Broadcast Group that has just blown up.
They're one of the largest broadcast groups in America they have over 190 TV stations
And you may have heard about them in the past John Oliver did a piece about their "must-runs". Sinclair reportedly
Regularly sends video segments that these stations have to run. They include things like the terrorism news update
He's got commenters speaking in support of Trump. Right, so to many it appears like there's this obviously lean
and it's being forced on these TV stations to run these pieces. Well, back in March CNN broke
new is that Sinclair was going to do a mandatory push of a promo that condemns what they call "fake news" from national outlets and
While CNN didn't publish a script of the promo they did publish select quotes and also internal memos about the promo. The memo also saying
That "...corporate will monitor the comments and send replies to your audience on your behalf." The memo then instructs the anchors to look a-political
Then describing what that looks like. Last Friday Seattle post-intelligencer?
Posted the script this after our local affiliate began airing their mandatory
Promos and then on Saturday this story blew up because Deadspin put out a compilation
video featuring several affiliates reading the same parts of script. "More alarming some media outlets publish these same fake stories without checking facts first."
-"The sharing of biased and false news has come all too common on social media...
[voices overlapping - all saying the same thing]
"More alarming some media outlets publish these same fake stories without checking facts first.
Unfortunately, some members of the media use their platforms to push their own personal bias and agenda
to control exactly what people think. And this is extremely dangerous to our democracy."
Of course the big stand out of this compilation of news anchors doing a
Mandatory read: "Unfortunately some members of the media use their platforms to push their own personal bias and agenda to control
exactly what people think this is extremely dangerous to a democracy and so of course you have many people saying that's
exactly what Sinclair Broadcast Group is doing right here. They have an agenda where they're trying to control how people think that they're pushing a
Certain angle a certain bias and they're pushing this across via mandatory reads now
I've also seen people say well, if those local news anchors. They don't agree with this. They don't have to say it
They could leave according to some reporting it might actually be a little more complicated than that Matt Pierce
Who's a correspondent for the Los Angeles time he tweeted: "A Sinclair journalist who has been trying to resist from inside the newsroom -
But who does not have a union - explains why it's so hard for TV anchors to refuse the Sinclair's editorial edict
they have contracts that penalize them if they quit." Then featuring screenshots of direct messages saying "Usually there's a provision in your
Contract saying that if you quit you owe something along the lines of your base pay times
40% and then times whatever percentage of your contract is left
And then if you've got any bonuses of any kind you pay those back. So for me that's like $5 of $6k
I think what I've heard of people having to pay more and you can't cash out your vacation days and
then there's usually a provision saying you can't work at another station within the same market that piers then also tweeting out a picture of
The alleged contract that this person had. And also an interesting note is this is not the first time Sinclair Broadcast Group has tried to
Get this message across in March of 2017 there was another must run feature this one featuring Sinclair vice president of news Scott
Livingston reading what appears to be a nearly identical script to the one that recently was done
But with local news hosts, appearing to try and take advantage of people's trust of their local news anchors so on the opposite end of
things you also have people saying this isn't the biggest deal, pointing out that if you listen to the full promo and not just
the the compilation videos that have been circulating
It's ultimately about all these TV stations saying that we are striving to be the best we can. There's a place on our website called
"Content Concerns" if you have issues with our reporting report it there. Fake news is a real problem. We do our work
Thank you for watching and my personal takeaway from this is it's a little bit of the to the first thing
I'll say is that yes it is
It is a horrifying look to see all of those local anchors repeating the same script talking about all of these other places
They're trying to push an agenda have bias
They're trying to control what you think in a mandatory read spot from a company that has mandatory run segments right that really doesn't shout
Independent and trusted cover it but at the same time it can't help, but think that this is just an incredibly obvious and apparent
Example of an issue that we have with most news when I flip on TV news and I and I try to watch as many
Channels as possible just to see what they're reporting how they're reporting it is hard not to see bias and agenda
everywhere. Sometimes when I pop on fox news it feels like it's gotten to the point where it's almost state-run media
And then you have like the CNN's and some
MSNBC's of the world where it feels like they're wearing patches that say resistance on it. And obviously understand that
I'm not talking about every individual anchor or contributor that is on one of those platforms right and I feel like some of that comes from
people's own personal
Bias that they in their head they think that they've pushed to the side and for others it seems outright intentional
But it is incredibly important to remember that there is a possibility and there is a likelihood of bias and agenda
And it's because ultimately that
Information is coming from another human being right and fake news the topic that the big guys have mentioned themselves you hear fox news anchors
Talking about fake news you have CNN there Apple is an apple commercial
Everyone's buying to be your trusted source of news to be the Titan among the trash
So that's my take on that as just a generally distrusting person along with this though
there's also a side story between Trump and
Sinclair Broadcast Group this because this morning Donald Trump tweeted "So funny to watch fake news networks among the most dishonest groups of people I
Have ever dealt with criticize Sinclair
Broadcasting for being biased. Sinclair is far superior to CNN and even more fake
NBC which is a total joke." So that's a thing of note especially when you pair it with two other things. One, the mandatory Fake
News that's threatening our democracy read. And two, Sinclair Broadcast Group needs government approval right now
specifically they need approval from the Justice Department and the FCC for a
3.9 billion dollar acquisition
To buy tribune media that would expand their reach you have people accusing the group of using their control over all of these TV
Stations as a way to kind of just grease the wheels along with this other deal
All in all, that's where we are right now. That is a story,
And I want to pass the question off to you of what is your what is your takeaway from this? Seeing the compilation video is
Shocking to you is it scary to you? What does it make you think about local News, News in general?
I'd love to know what you're thinking in those comments so from that. I want to share some stuff
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Didn't see on this channel yesterday. I uploaded a bonus video. That was the one-hour interview podcast with Sean Evans of "Hot Ones"
It's a great time great video and a series I am very excited to be bringing back. If you haven't seen it
I highly recommend watching it after this video and we got a trailer for "The Quiet Place which I can't wait to see and one
Of my favorite April Fools things from yesterday is a Netflix put out a video about how they acquired Seth Rogen acquiring
He as a person his thoughts his dreams. Even just the idea of him also on the
note of fake news, I feel like unless it was something
super super silly like this some of the people just making false claims
It was it was harder to tell on the face of everything
What was fake and what wasn't just after the past like a year and a half we've had I feel like there's been so many
Moments where I was like. Oh that would never-oh it happened. It happened.
Really? Interesting...okay, and so that's why yesterday. I pretty much just stayed off the internet. I was like
I just don't I don't have the time for this anyway moving on we also had Aubree Plaza and Dan Stevens
Hijacking a stranger's tender James Corden getting hit in slow motion by the slow mo guys
If you want to see the full version to everything I just shared the secret link of the day anything at all
Links is always are in the description down below. Then and a quickie requested story
We had Jake Paul in the news. This because the Hollywood Reporter broke the news that Jake Paul is developing a YouTube talk show
For YouTube Red. So I had people ask me what do you think about this?
Can you believe that YouTube is doing this and my response is, yes,
I can believe YouTube is doing this. One, despite Jake Paul having had a year of
controversies after Logan Paul's whole suicide
Exploitation scandal he - and I mean media outlets are actually calling him this - he has actually been identified by some
Outlets now as "the good Paul"
He's also done things some would say to just better his image. Videos where he tried to help hurricane victims
Recently he put out that that gun reform video, so maybe there are legitimate reasons for YouTube to go, okay well
He's pretty brand safe it also separate from that there are instances where it does appear that YouTube
Is giving him some sort of
Preferential treatment. Jake Paul seems to be in a special class of YouTube channel where he can feature pretty much just a half-naked woman in
The thumbnail he's got regular ads and mid rolls on that thing, but but someone talking about their coming-out story. They're getting demonetised
That's just his regular channel. The final thing I'll say is ultimately numbers move
If there are enough kids that watch Jake Paul's content that can convert their accounts to YouTube Red. YouTube of course
They're gonna try and go for it. Paul just needs to not kill anybody and/or feature someone
That's been killed in a video for like the next six months
He gets three to seven million views on every video YouTube's thinking about those conversions
That said for the time being it also appears that YouTube is
distancing themselves
Because a spokeswoman reportedly told The Hollywood Reporter "Last year we engaged in early development deals with a handful of YouTube creators as part of
Our normal process to evaluate new creative ideas. There is no series order currently in place."
It's being developed the whole seasons not done deal yet, but honestly I would be shocked, shocked if YouTube didn't green-light it.
Then in quickie news that will most likely leave you pissed off Ethan Couch is in the news. Couch of course was referred to as
The affluenza kid which unfortunately does very much so minimize what he did if you don't remember when Couch was 16
He was incredibly drunk
He was driving in fact three times over the legal limit
And he ended up hitting and killing four people
In addition to that he injured several others including two people that got launched from the back of the truck
those two severely injured one is no longer able to move or talk due to a brain injury right so that happened and then in
2013 a judge gave him no jail time for the prosecutor saw 20 years in jail
Got zero it appears that it went that way because a psychologist said the couch was a victim of affluenza
It was a product of wealthy privileged parents that never set limits for him, so he didn't really know. What was wrong
He's put on probation for 10 years and then like an idiot he
violated that probation ended up fleeing the country went to Mexico with his mother ends up being found he sent to the US a Texas
judge then gives him about two years in prison the reason even Couch is back in the news today is because today he has been released back
into society
Granted on probation. He'll reportedly have to wear an ankle monitor an alcohol detecting patch submit to drug testing abide by a 9:00 p.m.
curfew and have a video interlock ignition device installed in his vehicle
but still back out into the world after having killed
Four people and massively injuring two it's usually with stories like these where people say well Phil you don't show that the images
Of mass murders you don't share their names yes, but with stories like this one. It is different
This isn't justice people like Ethan Couch who get away with this horrible horrible shit should never be able to lose that
Association with their name Ethan Couch's in the world the Brock Turner's of the world, we should never forget those names
Then let's talk about the updates and escalations about the possible
International trade war. Of course in the past we talked about the 25% tariff on steel
10% on aluminum initially it was a tariff across-the-board, then it was well
We're not gonna hit, Canada and Mexico. The groups that ended up being excluded included, Canada, Mexico, The European Union, Australia,
Argentina, Brazil, South Korea
Noticeably and purposefully China of course not on that list and so China's Ministry of Commerce said in a statement late Sunday those exemptions
violated the World Trade Organization rules that prohibit members from discriminating against other World Trade
Organization members also adding they hope the US government would withdraw the tariffs as soon as possible so the trading products between China and the
United States would return to a normal track along with that China announced that they're imposing their own new tariffs specifically tariffs of 15% on
120 American products. This with things like fruits, nuts, wine, steel pipes also tariffs of 25% on eight other products as including pork and
Recycled aluminum China is saying they're doing this in order to safeguard
China's interests and balance the losses caused by the steel and aluminum tariffs specifically on pork this is something the US National Pork Producers
Council actually warned what happened last month saying the previous measures would have a significant negative impact on rural America
And it appears they knew this is going to happen because the u.s.
Pork industry sold 1.1 billion dollars worth of products to China last year
It's their third largest export market all in all it appears that the tariffs have been announced on about three billion dollars worth of products
now with that said
This is probably not the end of this
Situation that Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin saying you know there's talking behind the scenes we're trying to get everything
handled. But it's expected the Trump administration is going to announce which specific products
They are going to target with China soon, and it's feared that if that happens China, then retaliate by going after soybeans, airplanes,
But ultimately we're gonna have to wait and see what happens next. Then let's talk about updates around the David Hogg - Laura Ingraham
Situation and also some things that have been offshoots of that situation if you don't watch ride a show
I'll give you the simplified bring up to speed version Fox News host Laura Ingraham goes on Twitter
She kind of mocks David Hogg of course activist Parkland
Florida school shooting survivor for what she called whining that he didn't get into the schools that he wanted even with a
4.2 GPA. Hogg and others start a campaign to contact her advertisers get them to pull their advertising many do pull their advertising. Laura
apologized. David Hogg does not accept that apology. More and more advertisers and continue to pull out more than it doesn't have so far the
Update we're seeing now in that situation is that Laura is taking a one-week vacation.
It's a really the main question
We have is this a Bill O'Reilly vacation where he's really actually on his way out?
Or is this more of a Sean Hannity situation where he is actually going to come back? Obviously the situation's around both
It wasn't really apples to apples, but it is really a test case for how strong is the brand. I mean Hannity's brand was so strong
He was able to take advertisers leaving the outrage against him as a way to get other sponsor deals
so will be interesting to see what happens next also as far as what some people are calling the targeting of these parkland students and
Specifically Hogg, we had Frank Stallone and Ted Nugent in the news Sylvester Stallone's younger brother tweeting:
"This David Hogg pussy is getting a little big for his britches. I'm sure someone from his age
Group is dying to sucker punch this rich a little bitch. Watch him run home like the coward he is. He's the worst rep for
today's youth headline grabbing punk."
And of course many people are outraged by this start sharing it all over the place Frank Stallone ends of deleting the tweet we had
Many people saying how can you call for that this
kid that you do not agree with to be attacked. You're a 67 year old man
Seemingly lusting over the idea that someone younger than you will punch
This kid you don't agree with. Now after a lot of the backlash like I said Stallone deletes the tweet and then he tweets
"Everyone, and to David Hogg especially, I want to deeply apologize for my irresponsible words
I would never in a million years wish or promote violence to anyone anywhere on this planet
After what these kids went through and deeply ashamed. Please accept my apology. Frank." Which of course
It'd be very easy to tear that apology apart that "I would never" hear at you're commenting on it because you actually did is it
If this is a legitimate apology less than the man that you strive to be
Okay, sure. I would say for me personally
This is a situation if you look at Frank Stallone's normal social media
Interaction levels this very much looks like an example of someone who is in their small little Twitter
bubble where they can just say anything and no one cares all of a sudden getting a lot of attention they didn't expect and then
Just cowering down to that mom. Then of course finally you had Ted Nugent which really and nothing from Ted Nugent really should be
Surprising he said things that Hillary Clinton should be hung called Obama subhuman mongrel dome to suck his Tiger dick now
He has added this beautiful quote talking about Parkland students turned activists "These poor children
I'm afraid to say this and it hurts me to say this, but the evidence is irrefutable
They have no soul." also referring to them and March for our lives organizers as mushy brain children
And there's really not much to add there. No one's shocked Ted Nugent said that but also over the weekend
We saw a different kind of outrage people angry at Joan Walsh
She's a political contributor for CNN and she popped out because of Kyle Kashuv. Kyle is also a survivor of the Parkland, Florida school shooting
but he did not join March for our Lives in fact he's pro-second amendment and has been very critical for March for our lives as well as the
Students involved in it he tweeted out a screenshot of Walsh's likes, featuring tweets like this to Kyle saying "Shame on you
I lost my daughter in this massacre this has nothing to do with ego or politics for me clearly are being handled and pushed to
Take an opposing view
Did you lose a family member in this? Do not judge those of us who did." Which Walsh responded, "Wow, Kyle
Are you really policing who "likes" tweets from a grieving Parkland father who lost his daughter? Good luck handling your stress, Kyle."
Which of course resulted in a lot of people saying WOW Walsh, are you really bullying this kid?
Walsh, then seemingly tried to dismiss the reaction tweeting. "Wow my mentions are now a sewer of NRA trolls and MAGA bots. Happy Easter and/or Passover
everybody!" When I look at moments like this I often wonder
How did you even end up in this place? The easy response to that tweet from Kyle is my likes are not me going yes
I agree
Especially as someone involved in News I'm essentially hitting like to bookmark this tweet because I want to be able to showcase what people are
Saying about individual situations. That's all you had to say, but instead you told a parkland, Florida school shooting survivor
Good luck handling your stress
I feel like this is one of those moments that we need to look out to the world and go okay so the people that
Were saying you know the the March for our lives kids they were off limits or they were not off limits?
Are you treating this situation,
the same? Because you should if the kid, the activist, the whoever if
They are all of a sudden treated differently because what they are saying fits your narrative
You're a hypocrite. And it's on that note that I'm going to end this story and pass a question off to you
What is your takeaway from from any and all of these
instances? Do you feel like people are being hypocritical with who they are outraged for or not? Any and all thoughts on this story
I'd love to know them in the comments down below
That's where I'm going to end today's show and remember if you liked this video you like I'm trying to do on this channel hit
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Ring that bell make sure you have notifications turned on. Also if you missed the last Philip Defranco show you want to catch up click
Or tap right there, or if you want to watch the conversation with Sean Evans click or tap right there
But that said of course as always my name is Philip Defranco.
You've just been Phill'd in. I love yo faces, and I'll see you tomorrow.