Mark Hyman (commentator)

File:Mark-Hyman-The-Point.jpg

Mark Hyman

Mark Hyman is the Vice President for Corporate Relations for Sinclair Broadcast Group, the largest chain of local television stations in the United States.

He is often cited as a case study in how media consolidation results in poor journalism, as he presided over Sinclair's media purchases and, later, downsizing of journalists in favor of generic news material used at all stations (including his own editorials).

Beginning in 2001, he created conservative editorial segments that are broadcast on all 62 of the group's stations, which are called The Point.

Controversy over Hyman began after the September 11 attacks, when he attacked some journalists and news agencies - such as National Public Radio, the New York Times, and CNN - as "aiding and abetting the enemy" when they reported on civilians accidentally killed during the U.S. attack on Afghanistan. (In the U.S. Constitution, these are the exact words used to define treason).

He later used the phrase cheese-eating surrender monkeys to describe the French in one of his editorials. Other notable slurs include calling war protesters "whack-jobs" and "communists."

In late 2004, he took heavy criticism for firing Jon Lieberman, Sinclair's Washington bureau chief and the chain's lead reporter, following the latter's public criticism of Sinclair's announced plan to air the controversial anti-Kerry film Stolen Honor as a news program in prime time on all of its stations.

Hyman called Lieberman a "disgruntled employee" and said the firing was because Lieberman had "[spoken] to the press about company business." Lieberman pointed to the fact that Sinclair had previously been pleased enough with him as an employee to promote him to the top, and attributed his firing to his criticism of Sinclair's Stolen Honor plan, a plan he says originated with Hyman.

On August 30, Hyman falsely claimed that Social Security discriminates against minorities, whereas the truth is that some minorities have longer life expectancies after retirement than whites[1].

He also falsely claimed spouses who worked for less than 10 years because they "gave up [their] career in order to raise a family... get diddly-squat"[2]. In fact, married Social Security recipients are eligible for all the benefits that they have earned for themselves, and, in addition, if those benefits are less than half of what their spouse receives, they also receive spousal benefits that increase their overall benefits to an amount equal to half their partner's benefit, plus survivor benefits.[3]

External links

• Mark Hyman on newscentral.tv
• The Point - Hyman's editorial segment
• One-sided "The Point" - Media Matters examines the daily one-minute editorial by Hyman (with video)
• The CounterPoint - weblog that counters the Sinclair V.P.'s daily on-air editorial