David Deniston Smith (born September 1, 1950) is an American businessman who is the executive chairman of
Sinclair Broadcast Group
Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (SBG) is a publicly traded American telecommunications conglomerate that is controlled by the descendants of company founder Julian Sinclair Smith. Headquartered in the Baltimore suburb of Cockeysville, Maryland, t ...
(SBGI) since January 2017, having been its president and CEO from September 1990 to January 2017.
Early life
David Deniston Smith is the son of
Julian Sinclair Smith
Julian Sinclair Smith (May 5, 1920 – April 19, 1993) was an American electrical engineer and television executive. He was the founder of the Sinclair Broadcast Group.
Early life
Smith was born in 1920 in Baltimore, the son of a grain exporter. ...
(1921–1993), founder of Sinclair Broadcast Group, and Carolyn Beth Cunningham.
He has three brothers, Frederick, J. Duncan and Robert.
Career
Smith began his career "selling pornographic videos in Baltimore's redlight district during the 1970s."
He founded Comark Communications in 1978.
Smith served as the chief executive officer and president of Sinclair Television Group, Inc. from 1988 to January 2017.
He "built Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. into the largest owner of television stations in the U.S.,"
and he was profiled by the ''New York Times'' in 1998. He has served as its executive chairman of SBGI since January 1, 2017. It has been reported that every news station under Sinclair's umbrella is required to syndicate commentary that comports with its owners’ ideological views.
In September 2013, his shareholding in SBGI was valued at $268 million.
Controversies
In an August 1996 prostitution sting, Smith was charged with committing an "unnatural and perverted sex act" (oral sex) in a Sinclair company vehicle. He was sentenced to Community service#Court ordered service, community service, which was fulfilled by having Sinclair station WBFF produce reports on a local drug counseling program.
Prior to Ajit Pai's appointment as chairman of the FCC, Smith had met with Pai to discuss deregulation of the FCC's media ownership rules. This meeting, plus Sinclair having been granted additional access to Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
's presidential campaign, resulted in accusations that Sinclair was currying favor with the Trump administration
Donald Trump's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 45th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Donald Trump, his inauguration on January 20, 2017, and ended on January 20, 2021. Trump, a Republican Party ...
in exchange for deregulation of the industry.
References
1950 births
Living people
People from Baltimore County, Maryland
Businesspeople from Maryland
American television executives
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