University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication’s Dean Juan-Carlos Molleda has joined 15 other university journalism schools airing their concerns towards Sinclair Broadcast Group and its chairman, David Smith in this letter.

The letter comes after Sinclair, which is the largest owner of television stations in the U.S. forced its news stations to air a ‘must-run’ statement condemning fake news and biased reporting. The statement caused an immense backlash from local news anchors.

The letter reads:

“Certainly, no news organization is beyond critique. And, as the Sinclair stations noted, social media have been used all too often to spread “false news.” But these are two very different things – the work of professional journalists who produce real news and the false accounts on social media. In making the leap to disparage news media generally – without specifics – Sinclair has diminished trust in the news media overall.”

The concern also comes after Sinclair promised a $25,000 donation to The National Press Photographers Association last week and then retracted their donation.

KVAL, Eugene’s local news station is owned by Sinclair and was one of the few stations whose co-anchors refused to read the controversial statement.

Follow Erin Carey on Twitter: @erinlcarey

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