Make Mike Tyson Great Again

By: Matt Groves

(Photo courtesy of NBC News)

It’s no secret that one of the most talked-about situations right now in local news is a reported “script” many local news anchors around the country have read and reported as fact. That script, provided by Sinclair Broadcast Group, oft criticized for right-leaning way, takes a shot at “fake news”. What many news anchors across the country read included phrases like “the troubling trend of irresponsible, one-sided news stories plaguing our country” and “some members of the media use their platforms to push their own personal bias and agenda to control ‘exactly what people think’”.

At the local (Greater Cincinnati) level, you saw beloved news anchors who I won’t name, reading that very script… and you probably felt one of two things. 1) Finally, someone calling out the liberal media for what they are: a bunch of Obama-era crybabies trying to take my guns and make me pay for the groceries of the lazy, pot-smoking, millennials. Or… 2) I can’t believe Donald Trump has even reached THIS far, as to shove his spray-tanned tiny hands up the asses of Joe & Janet Newsperson; playing the role of Master Puppeteer to brainwash the masses and impede on free thinking.

Before I offer my 4.7 cents (inflation is a bitch), I’ll offer that of world champion boxer Mike Tyson: “You have a problem? Turn off ya station.” Oh yeth, we’re going all Mike Tython up in thith bi***! In a thenth, both the interview during which Mike thpat those famouth wordth, and the viewpointh I’m going to thare on the matterth at hand relate. What I mean ith thith: regardleth of the avenue we take to itholate ourthelves from what we don’t want to hear, those methages are thtill going to get through. And we’ve come full thircle: If you don’t like what you’re hearing, change ya thtation and don’t thupport Thinclair altogether. Now that I’ve turned the Mike (mic) off, or, “dropped the Mike (mic)” if you will… I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist. My Unsolicited Take All humor aside, what we’re seeing in local news, specifically from TV stations under the ownership of Sinclair Broadcasting Group is serious. And I say that as someone who’s worked in the field, in the newsroom, and at the news desks of television stations. My time in broadcast news was many things to me. It was transforming, it was devastating. It was exhilarating, and it was exhausting.

During and since my time at the desk, I developed an ability to look at things from a new set of eyes. And it’s through those that I’ll try to make an argument to not despise the beloved legacy anchors and reporters who sent you such a one-sided message in recent weeks.

As your “TV news insider”, I’d like to tell you a little bit about how TV news employment works. Much like you might imagine, TV news journalists work on a contractual basis. When you see the same people on TV for decades, it means they’re making money for the station’s that employ them. When you see a struggling reporter on television one day and gone the next… well, you get the hint.

Those contracts are FULL and cover everything from conduct in and out of the newsroom environment, to what type of clothing you can wear, how you can cut your hair, and what type of overall “image” you are to keep. That may seem drastic but, in an industry as volatile and fickle as TV news, it makes perfect sense.

These people… I (at one time), would do anything to get ahead out of necessary employment and fear for intra-station backlash. There are times when you will say things you don’t mean—and don’t want to say, just to save your job.

I’m not sticking up for the anchors who’ve been sitting in the same spot for decades, reading you your beloved news headlines. They should be held at a higher standard if for no other reason than they can be making A LOT of money. It’s those anchors who could’ve and (depending on your viewpoints) should’ve taken a stand against those one-way messages we’ve heard. But as much as it’s on them, we have a responsibility as well.

If you’re getting ALL of your news and current events from one source, you’re also in the wrong. If you’re watching CBS tonight, flip on ABC tomorrow. If you’re powerwalking on the treadmill to FOX News on Tuesday, grab the machine in front of the CNN television on Thursday. Take Wednesday off. You’re wearing yourself out.

Perhaps the most important message I’d want to share about this is: don’t be distracted. From what, you ask? From the real warfare taking place in our country and world right now that’s claiming lives each and every day. I doubt anyone is dead due to a right-wing message from our favorite local anchors.

While we worry about what they said, women and minorities continue to make substantially less than white men. The National Women’s Law Center says women of color are being paid less than non-Hispanic men with the same experience and title. It says mothers of ALL ethnic backgrounds are making less than the fathers of their children with the same metrics. Here’s a link if you’re interested in learning more: https://nwlc.org/resources/the-wage-gap-the-who-how-why-and-what-to-do/ 

While we worry about what Sinclair said, young men and women are still being gunned down in schools regardless of where you stand on gun control laws.

While we worry about what Sinclair said, more than 16% of our neighbors in Bracken County are living in poverty, according to the United States Census Bureau. In Mason County, that number is just shy of 20%. In Robertson County? 25%.

Let’s all take some advice from Mike Tyson. Change your station. In fact, turn off the TV and go help your neighbor.