Sinclair Broadcast Group 
Cunningham Broadcasting Corporation 
Comark Communications 
Hot Docs director of programming Shane Smith, who is a juror at the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival, thinks audiences today have a growing hunger for documentary films, at a time when a wide range of fests and platforms have made the movies more accessible and the form’s storytelling capabilities are more essential than ever before.“We’ve never had more information in our lives, but at the same time we’ve never had less insight into what’s…really going on,” he says. “Those...
Sinclair Broadcast Group
David
D.
Smith
Chairman
Sinclair Broadcast chairman Smith has seen his national profile grow significantly in the past year, as his company landed in the crosshairs of media-watchdog groups for its now aborted acquisition of Tribune Media. The company had hoped to expand its reach and hold onto networks such as Fox and the CW by adding Tribune’s 42 local TV stations and WGN America cabler. But the deal stirred up opposition due to its scale. Now Sinclair is being sued by Tribune for failing to close the deal and playing hardball with regulators. Known as an archconservative, hard-driving negotiator, Smith has a background in broadcast engineering and has been promoting his vision for the industry’s ATSC 3.0 technical standards, which support the newer technologies.
