WLOS

U.S. right

Background

WLOS-TV signed on in September 1954 as Asheville's second television station, initially affiliated with both ABC and the now-defunct DuMont Television Network. It was founded by Skyway Broadcasting Corporation, the owner of WLOS radio, and Wometco Enterprises purchased it in 1958. After Wometco sold it in the late 1980s, the station passed through Anchor Media and then River City Broadcasting before Sinclair Broadcast Group absorbed it in 1996 through its merger with River City. Since then, WLOS has operated under Sinclair's centralized editorial model, which requires local stations to air nationally produced conservative commentary segments — a practice that drew widespread criticism in 2018 when footage of anchors across the country reading an identical promotional script went viral. Sinclair, whose political donations have gone roughly 80 percent to Republican candidates since 1994, has maintained a well-documented relationship with the Trump administration across both terms, including receiving favorable FCC regulatory treatment during Trump's first term. In 2025, Sinclair joined fellow broadcaster Nexstar in pulling 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' from affiliated stations after Kimmel made comments about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, a move widely interpreted as reflecting political alignment with Trump-era sensibilities. Locally, WLOS has been the dominant news outlet for western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina, providing extensive coverage of regional events such as the devastating 2024 Hurricane Helene. Media monitoring organizations consistently rate it as right-leaning, primarily due to Sinclair's ownership and mandatory content directives rather than its local reporting staff.

Sources

1. WLOS – Wikipedia
2. WLOS (ABC13News) – Bias and Credibility – Media Bias/Fact Check
3. Sinclair Broadcast Group – Wikipedia
4. Sinclair Broadcast Group | History, Holdings, & Political Controversies – Britannica
5. Pro-Trump outlet Sinclair is turning local news into Trump TV – Media Matters
6. How Sinclair Broadcasting puts a partisan tilt on trusted local news – PBS NewsHour
7. WLOS TV news anchors in Asheville read Sinclair-ordered promos – Ashvegas
8. Top Oversight Democrat Says He's Launching Investigation Of Trump Administration, ABC And Sinclair Over Jimmy Kimmel Suspension – Deadline
9. Sinclair Broadcast Group Forces Nearly 200 Station Anchors To Read Same Script – NPR

Profile compiled 2026-07-21; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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