NEW YORK (AP) – Former CBS News reporter Sharyl Attkisson promises her new Sinclair Television show will be different than typical Sunday morning public affairs programs, but she couldn’t resist having Donald Trump as her first guest.
Such are the realities of selling yourself in a competitive world, and the Republican presidential front-runner is a viewer magnet. Since Sunday’s first show is largely about immigration and Trump has done more than anyone to drive that issue lately, Attkisson said the booking isn’t just opportunism.
“Full Measure” is the first-ever program produced by the Sinclair Television Group, which owns 162 local TV stations, covering 38 percent of the nation’s TV homes. Most stations will air it at 9:30 a.m., or later in the morning in some markets where Sinclair owns more than one station, like in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, or Syracuse, N.Y.
The program’s mission is accountability reporting and investigations. Sinclair and Attkisson say “Full Measure” will come without a political agenda, although shared history makes that a pertinent question.
“My goal is to put on a compelling news program that brings to light stories and angles that other people are trying to cover up or censor or not have you see,” Attkisson said. “Now there will be people who don’t like what I do. There always have been.”