DEATH VISITS SINCLAIR LIVE SHOT. . . SURPRISE

DEATH VISITS SINCLAIR LIVE SHOT. . . SURPRISE

COLUMBUS, OH (February 4, 2005) — Sinclair Broadcasting affiliates FOX-TV WTTE (Channel 28) and ABC WSYX-TV (Channel 6) had an unanticipated brush with Death on their noon news broadcasts today.

The Grim Reaper, grinning beneath a black hood, approached the live shot with a plastic sickle and a scroll. The Reaper lurked just behind the Sinclair reporter’s shoulder for the remainder of the shot.

NEWSBREAKERS, a media watchdog organization, posted video of the event on their website, www.newsbreakers.org.

Sinclair Broadcasting controls FOX and ABC Columbus television stations, offering viewers “The Power of Television Times Two”. The stations, which share news programming in the market, aired a report pertaining to a series of bloodless shootings and revisited a string of shootings that killed a woman in Ohio a year earlier.

NEWSBREAKERS anchor JD Rozz explained why the reaper’s assistance was needed for Sinclair’s story.

“News teams love the Reaper. They count on him to Hezazz things up all the time. Today he just wanted a little face time,” Rozz said.

“I’m tight with organizations like Sinclair. I try to respect their deadlines as my own,” said the Reaper. “I strive to preserve the synergy that exists between us.”
NEWSBREAKERS is a nonpartisan media watchdog organization that offers comment and critique on the role of TV news. The group relies on parody and non-traditional media interventions.

The group is currently planning future events.

CONTACT: (212) 931-8548 or e-mail questions to questions@newsbreakers.org