The powerful Sinclair Broadcast Group is dumping political commentary segments by former Trump campaign and White House aide Boris Epshteyn from newscasts on its more than 190 television stations.
Epshteyn’s “Bottom Line with Boris” segments “were controversial both inside and outside the company, with some Sinclair journalists frustrated about the mandate to give up local news time for Fox-style right-wing opinion,” CNN reports.
NBC News was the first to report Sinclair’s decision, which also affects its more progressive commentator, Ameshia Cross.
The final segments for both Epshteyn and Cross will air on Friday.
“Epshteyn has been featured in regular commentary segments that air during local newscasts … across the country since leaving the Trump administration in early 2017. He has repeatedly supported President Trump’s initiatives and policies and frequently echoes Trump’s rhetoric,” says the Washington Post.
It appears that both Epshteyn and Cross will remain with Sinclair, in other roles.
In its Wednesday report, NBC cited an internal Sinclair memo as saying the company decided to drop the commentaries in order to devote more resources to local investigative reporting.