Did their lawyers tell them to knock it off or something?

>Our objective throughout this process has been to ensure that programming remains accurate and engaging for the widest possible audience,

They demanded he apologize and give money to Kirk's family and his organization, like some shakedown ... that's not about engaging programming.

It's the widest possible audience that means more than any principles they may have.

Kimmel had over 6 million viewers when he came back, but Sinclair and their advertisers didn't get any share of that.

A little shakedown acts more like singing to the choir than anything else.