Does any TV viewer think on-air personalities are ad-libbing what they say?  Do we not know that nearly every word that comes out of the mouth of newspeople is scripted and approved by someone?  Hence my amazement at the media-orchestrated brouhaha at the "revelation" that anchors in the Sinclair network were encouraged to read promotional copy warning of fake news in the media.  Do you really think CNN or Fox News anchors go on air and pontificate for hours without a script?  If so, let me sell you a bridge in Brooklyn.

Sinclair Broadcast Group is a public company, the largest television station operator in the United States – their affiliates are across the board, including 43 Fox News stations, 33 ABC stations, 27 CBS stations, 22 NBC stations, and a smattering of others.  Their programs reach 40% of America via local TV programs – and their usage of the word "fake news" is as mainstream as apple pie, as is anchors reading a script.

Anchors were encouraged to read a statement that read, "[I]t's our responsibility to pursue and report the truth.  We understand truth is neither politically 'left' nor 'right.'  Our commitment to factual reporting is the foundation of our credibility, now more than ever."  In an era in which people don't trust the news, the reality is that everyone's version of the truth differs by how he sees the world.

As Jonah Goldberg rightfully pointed out, other news organizations have similar campaigns: "some of MSNBC's promotional ads are far, far, more explicitly partisan.  In the past, anchors have appeared in commercials staring straight to camera preening about the need to 'Lean Forward' into various progressive causes[.] ... CNN recently launched a self-promotional ad campaign, making the exact same point as the Sinclair script.  It begins: 'This is an apple. Some people might try and tell you that it's a banana...'  [I]t goes on to make the point that CNN can be counted on to call apples apples."

Sinclair did nothing out of the ordinary – so why all the headlines here?

Ronn Torossian is CEO of 5WPR, one of the largest independent P.R. firms in the United States.