FCC Commissioner Slams Her Own Agency for Policies 'Custom-Built' to Favor Sinclair-Tribune Merger

FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel on Tuesday argued against her own agency’s recent policy rulings under the Trump administration, in light of President Donald Trump’s defense of Sinclair Broadcasting as the conservative broadcasting giant attempts to merge with Tribune Media in a $3.9 billion deal.

Critics, including Rosenworcel, are concerned that under Chairman Ajit Pai, who Trump appointed last year, the FCC is moving deliberately to allow the Sinclair-Tribune merger to go through.  Known for pushing right-wing viewpoints within the stations it already owns, the broadcaster drew ire this week after a viral video showed how local anchors nationwide are forced to read the same pre-packaged scripts.

The FCC voted last November to loosen regulations meant to ensure a variety of viewpoints are disseminated via the nation’s news broadcasts, allowing broadcast companies like Sinclair to control two of the top four stations in a given market.

Rosenworcel was joined by fellow Democratic commissioner Mignon Clyburn in dissenting when the rules were eliminated, with Clyburn calling the decision “deeply flawed.”

“This is really about helping large media companies grow even larger,” she added.

As CNET points out, just before Sinclair announced it would seek to merge with Tribune—a move that would give Sinclair control of 42 additional stations in major markets like New York, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.—the FCC also reinstated a loophole allowing Sinclair to undercount the households it reached in order to keep its scope under the threshold of 39 percent of the nation’s homes.

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