Sinclair Broadcasting drops political commentary by former Trump aide Boris Epshteyn

Bret Gibson
Thursday, Dec. 12, 2019 12:15 p.m. | Thursday, Dec. 12, 2019 12:15 p.m.

Boris Epshteyn, former special assistant to President Donald Trump, right, attends the 2019 Prison Reform Summit and First Step Act Celebration in the East Room of the White House in Washington. The Sinclair group of local television stations said it is dropping its commentary segments featuring Epshteyn in favor of a greater emphasis on local investigative journalism.

Sinclair Broadcast Group has put an end to airing political commentary segments from former Donald Trump aide Boris Epshteyn and others.

The final “must-run” segments end Friday. The move is part of Sinclair’s efforts to shift away from political commentary in favor of investigative reporting, according to NBC News.

NBC quoted from a memo to Sinclair staffers that said “we will be expanding our local investigative journalism footprint in our daily newscasts. We are excited to dedicate more time in our newscasts to report on critical and relevant issues.”

Reax to Sinclair dropping commentary segments: "The mood and energy is really lifted today," a longtime staffer says. "While there's still some concerns over content being right-leaning, this is a step in the right direction." https://t.co/yLuq4at4E5

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) December 11, 2019

Epshteyn’s segments, called “Bottom Line With Boris,” were known as “must-runs,” meaning Sinclair’s local stations were obligated to air them. Sinclair, which owns about 200 local stations nationwide, hired Epshteyn, a former Trump campaign official, in 2017, saying he would “provide additional political content that goes beyond the podium to provide a true point of difference.”

In January, Sinclair hired liberal commentator Ameshia Cross to offer another political perspective.

Interestingly people keep asking how I'm doing. I'm fine. Change is a natural part of the life cycle. I've weathered the storm of family separation due to incarceration, the cancer death of my mom, suicide of my brother & w/ God's grace & favor keep rising. Thanks for the love

— Ameshia Cross (@AmeshiaCross) December 11, 2019

Epshteyn’s commentary on the network raised eyebrows, especially his remarks comparing illegal immigration to an “attempted invasion” after highlighting footage of border authorities using tear gas on illegal immigrants.

NEW: Sinclair stations are now airing a Boris Epshteyn "must-run" segment defending tear-gassing children at the border. https://t.co/Xo78RMHzZV pic.twitter.com/wWaBlHO7Wc

— Pam Vogel (@pamela_vogel) November 27, 2018

Epshteyn declined to comment on the move. He tweeted that he was thankful to be a part of Sinclair and to have “produced poignant and insightful commentary the past two plus years.”

I'm thankful to be a part of @WeAreSinclair and to have produced poignant and insightful commentary for these last two plus years.

I look forward to continuing to work with this great company.

— Boris Epshteyn (@BorisEP) December 11, 2019

In Western Pennsylvania, Sinclair owns WPGH and WPNT.

Bret Gibson is a TribLive digital producer. A South Hills resident, he started working for the Trib in 1998. He can be reached at bgibson@triblive.com.