A liberal consumer watchdog group is reportedly hoping to run ads condemning Sinclair Broadcasting Group on multiple Sinclair-owned stations.
Allied Progress is looking to make a “six-figure ad buy” to purchase time on four Sinclair-owned stations, including WJLA in Washington, D.C.; KDSM in Des Moines, Iowa; KOMO in Seattle; and WBFF in Baltimore, CNN reported.
It is not yet known if Sinclair will accept the ads.
{mosads}CNN reported the spots will tell viewers to contact the Federal Communications Commission “to stop the Sinclair merger,” referring to a merger between Sinclair and Tribune media.
“We’re running these ads to ensure Sinclair’s local viewers know the company’s politically motivated owners are forcing the anchors they trust to advance a partisan agenda that has nothing to do with news and everything to do with politics,” the group’s executive director, Karl Frisch, told CNN.
The report comes as Sinclair is facing backlash after a clip of Sinclair local anchors reading the same speech about media bias went viral.
The promos have since gained national attention and scrutiny.
Earlier this week, the producer of a morning show at a Sinclair-owned station in Nebraska said he resigned in protest of the network’s “obvious bias.”
A Sinclair executive this week defended the promos, saying they were “focused on fact-based reporting” and showed the company’s “commitment to our communities.”