Elimination of Main Station Rule Latest Gift to Sinclair
WASHINGTON, D.C. – While the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has officially
stopped the clock on its review of the merger between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Tribune
Media, Chairman Ajit Pai’s effort to take down the regulatory barriers in Sinclair’s way continues unabated. The FCC today voted to “eliminate a rule that required broadcast station groups to maintain a physical presence in the community of their primary local coverage area.” If theSinclair-Tribune merger goes through, Sinclair would have reach 72% of U.S. households, with a presence in 39 of the top 50 markets.
“Under Chairman Pai, every day is like Christmas for Sinclair. Today the FCC
once again changed the rules to pave the way for Sinclair’s takeover of
Tribune media. Allowing this merger to go through will give Sinclair
unprecedented, monopolistic control over local media throughout the
country,” said Karl Frisch, executive director of Allied Progress.
He continued, “Without the main studio rule, local news is no longer local.
Instead, viewers in Des Moines, Grand Rapids, Oklahoma City and throughout
the country can be fed the same biased media coverage from Sinclair’s
headquarters.”