BALTIMORE, April 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Sinclair Broadcast
Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SBGI) today announced a new public service
initiative, in partnership with the University
of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), to provide consumers
with important and timely news and information about the
Coronavirus (COVID-19).
The 4 – 8-minute television segments will be aired live on
Baltimore's FOX 45 and will be
shared as potential news and digital content for use by 73 Sinclair
television station newsrooms across the U.S. The segments
will provide critical information from the medical and scientific
team at UMSOM, which is one of the top biomedical research centers
in the world and at the forefront of ongoing COVID-19
research. The informational segments will also answer live
questions from viewers.
"We are honored to partner with a leading organization fighting
on the front lines against this global pandemic to help share
critical and potentially life-saving information for our viewers,"
said Chris Ripley, Sinclair's
President and CEO. "I am proud of the tireless dedication of our
entire Sinclair team during this crisis to deliver urgent news and
information from important sources as we all work together to
protect our communities around the country."
E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD,
MBA, Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs at UM,
Baltimore, the John Z. and Akiko
K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and Dean, University of Maryland School of
Medicine, commented: "We are fortunate to have faculty experts at
the University of Maryland School of
Medicine who are among the top scientists in the nation on
infectious disease and vaccine development, and who are directly
involved in conducting research and developing treatments for
COVID-19. We are excited to partner with Sinclair to provide
critical information to viewers across the country who seek
accurate medical information about COVID-19."
A team of experts on Coronavirus, vaccine and therapy
development, and disease response will be participating in these
regular segments and will include:
- Kathleen Neuzil, MD, MPH,
FIDSA, The Myron M. Levine, MD, DTPH, Professor in
Vaccinology and Director of the Center for Vaccine Development and
Global Health at the University of Maryland
School of Medicine. Dr. Neuzil is an expert on vaccines,
respiratory illness and therapies;
- Wilbur Chen, MD,
Associate Professor of Medicine, adult infectious disease
specialist, and scientist in the Center for Vaccine Development and
Global Health at the UMSOM. He has led numerous clinical trials for
vaccines and is a respiratory illness specialist. He is also a top
adviser to Maryland Governor
Larry Hogan on COVID-19
response;
- Matthew Frieman, PhD,
Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at UMSOM, who has been
researching coronaviruses for over a decade. In his laboratory, Dr.
Frieman has been conducting important research using the novel
coronavirus to test potential new therapies to treat COVID-19.
About Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.
Sinclair is a diversified media company and leading provider of
local sports and news. The Company owns and/or operates 23 regional
sports network brands; owns, operates and/or provides services to
191 television stations in 89 markets; is a leading local news
provider in the country; owns multiple national networks; and has
TV stations affiliated with all the major broadcast networks.
Sinclair's content is delivered via multiple platforms, including
over-the-air, multi-channel video program distributors, and digital
platforms. The Company regularly uses its website as a key source
of Company information which can be accessed at
www.sbgi.net.
About the University of Maryland School
of Medicine
Now in its third century, the University of
Maryland School of Medicine was chartered in 1807 as the
first public medical school in the United
States. It continues today as one of the fastest growing,
top-tier biomedical research enterprises in the world -- with 45
academic departments, centers, institutes, and programs; and a
faculty of more than 3,000 physicians, scientists, and allied
health professionals, including members of the National Academy of
Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, and a distinguished
two-time winner of the Albert E.
Lasker Award in Medical Research. With an operating budget
of more than $1.2 billion, the School
of Medicine works closely in partnership with the University of Maryland Medical Center and Medical
System to provide research-intensive, academic and clinically based
care for nearly 2 million patients each year. The School of
Medicine has more than $540 million
in extramural funding, with most of its academic departments highly
ranked among all medical schools in the nation in research funding.
As one of the seven professional schools that make up the
University of Maryland, Baltimore
campus, the School of Medicine has a total population of
nearly 9,000 faculty and staff, including 2,500 student trainees,
residents, and fellows. The combined School of Medicine and Medical
System ("University of Maryland
Medicine") has an annual budget of nearly $6
billion and an economic impact more than $15 billion on the state and local community. The
School of Medicine faculty, which ranks as the 8th highest among
public medical schools in research productivity, is an innovator in
translational medicine, with 600 active patents and 24 start-up
companies. The School of Medicine works locally, nationally, and
globally, with research and treatment facilities in 36 countries
around the world. Visit medschool.umaryland.edu
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SOURCE Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.