Longtime news anchor at Sinclair-owned station quits, saying he doesn't 'fit well with the Sinclair news model'

Rob Braun

A longtime news anchor at WKRC-TV in Cincinnati quit his job because he dislikes working for Sinclair Broadcast Group. Sinclair bought the station in 2012.

Rob Braun began working at WKRC in 1984, quickly rising to evening anchor. "Last year, Braun and his co-anchor, Cammy Dierking, were subjects of a viral video showing TV anchors across the country reading identical scripts about 'fake news' and bias in the media," Rachel Berry reports for the Cincinnati Enquirer. Sinclair forced the anchors to read the script, and regularly mandates other conservative and pro-Trump content.

In a Facebook post after his announcement, Braun stressed that he is not retiring, nor is WKRC forcing him out. He said he's "choosing to leave" because he doesn't "fit well with the Sinclair news model." He promised he would say more on the subject on-air during his last broadcast at 6 p.m. on Friday, June 28.

Braun's announcement was met with an outpouring of support from area viewers, many of whom vowed to stop watching WKRC after Braun leaves. Other posts criticized Sinclair, Berry reports. "No legitimate journalist or newsman fits well with the Sinclair news model," West Chester resident Michael D'Agostino wrote on Twitter. "Glad Rob had the guts to call it out and take a stand."

The anchor is the son of Bob Braun, a regionally prominent TV personality who was based in Cincinnati and died in 2001.