John Oliver’s weekly show on HBO takes a look at Sinclair Broadcast Group, the growing collection of TV stations that includes KATV in Little Rock and will grow in local influence with acquisitions n Northwest Arkansas and Memphis.

Oliver continues to examine a theme that has long accompanied Sinclair acquisitions — its conservative political bent and the must-run reporting and commentatary it produces for the local stations. It’s a big deal, because Sinclair is about to reach more than 2 million households with local news every night, more than the Fox News cable channel.

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Among others, Oliver gets into pro-Trump commentator Boris Epshteyn, now Sinclair’s chief political analyst.

The issue is whether the national outfit influences local news. By way of example, Oliver shows use of an identical script on Sinclair stations across the country suggesting an FBI vendetta against Michael Flynn. And more.

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