Carlos Bastarache: sinclair.jpg

nobody knows I'm unemployed because I've got so much money

How America’s largest local TV owner turned its news anchors into soldiers in Trump’s war on the media: https://t.co/iLVtKRQycL pic.twitter.com/dMdSGellH3

— Deadspin (@Deadspin) March 31, 2018

In the wake of the controversy surrounding Sinclair Broadcasting for forcing their local news anchors to read from a script about “biased and false news,” which is basically repeating talking (err, screaming) points from President Trump, many are questioning why the these journalists don’t just quit. Not only does what they’re being told to do grossly compromise journalistic integrity, but making it mandatory for on-air personalities to recite the agenda of a leader is basically tantamount to state-run TV that we associate with places like North Korea and Russia.

Unfortunately, it’s apparently not so easy for these men and women to refuse the orders or resign. Matt Pearce with the Los Angeles Times has been in contact with several journalists from Sinclair-run stations, and shockingly it seems like not the greatest place to work — required propaganda aside.

For a journalist to quit and violate their contract, they allegedly must pay back the company their base pay times 40 percent, times the percentage of their contract that’s left. They also must pay back any bonuses they’ve received and, certainly, they don’t get their vacation paid out.

A Sinclair journalist, who has been trying to resist from inside the newsroom — but who doesn’t have a union — explains why it’s so hard for TV anchors to refuse the Sinclair’s editorial edicts. They have contracts that penalize them if they quit. pic.twitter.com/pFGVglxAQU

— Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) April 2, 2018

A former Sinclair journalist sent me a screenshot of their contract. “I couldn't leave because of this part of my contract.” pic.twitter.com/ePCnUCbzs0

— Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) April 2, 2018

Oh, and also apparently Sinclair can fire you for whatever reason. pic.twitter.com/X0QocwJzXI

— Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) April 2, 2018

Another former Sinclair journalist: pic.twitter.com/USgXTNRCtm

— Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) April 2, 2018

Pearce also offered some insight as to how a journalist might unintentionally find themselves working for a Sinclair property:

1. Sinclair has been on a buying spree; not all Sinclair journalists signed up to be Sinclair journalists. 2. Sinclair owns an increasingly huge share of the local TV market, which means your pool of potential employers, in an already competitive job market, is very small. https://t.co/c9xV6NIR5t

— Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) April 2, 2018

Others also chimed in to back up the anonymous employees:

My station (soon-to-be-Sinclair property) has sued employees in the past for quitting early in their contracts.

— Rob Zerwekh (@zerwekh) April 2, 2018

Crazy thing is that these sorts of contracts are standard throughout the industry at most commercial TV stations in the U.S. It’s especially rough for Sinclair employees now, but Sinclair isn’t the only corporation doing this. https://t.co/i8ytnVwmgP

— James Brosher (@jamesbrosher) April 2, 2018

the contracts that most broadcast journalists have to sign are absolutely insane- have many broadcast friends who've been tormented by the terms of their contracts https://t.co/wq6D7zBHh9

— Wesley (@WesleyLowery) April 2, 2018

He also shared some excerpts of contracts passed on to him by those who reached out, and they are indeed baffling:

A lot of people are curious about this, so a former Sinclair journalist sent me a Sinclair contract. Here are the parts about quitting/getting fired. (See that clause about politics? It forbids employees from expressing their personal political views, but not their employer's.) pic.twitter.com/doFwbdl239

— Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) April 2, 2018

Also this is sort of unrelated to the whole fake news thing, but this bit also caught my eye. pic.twitter.com/jcyN4Nmfme

— Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) April 2, 2018

Oh boy. If there's a lawsuit/arbitration, Sinclair is guaranteed attorney's fees if they win, but the employee isn't guaranteed attorney's fees if the employee wins. pic.twitter.com/b94fuAaM6l

— Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) April 2, 2018

This part really jumps out at me: This Sinclair contract says the TV station can fire this journalist if they become disabled and can't "present a pleasant personal appearance and a strong, agreeable voice” pic.twitter.com/B55GHG7elv

— Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) April 2, 2018

Although Pearce points out that he doesn’t know how much of the Sinclair contracts are enforceable under various labor laws, and just because something is in a contract doesn’t make it legal — who among us would want to find out the hard way? In light of all this, it’s hard to blame them for not leaving.