FCC Should Use Localism Hook to Block Sinclair/Tribune, Wheeler Says
The viral video of Sinclair newsrooms repeating a script about "fake news" (see 1804020056) shows the inevitable result of FCC continued removal of policies that protected localism, former agency Chairman Tom Wheeler blogged Thursday for the Brookings Institution, with which…
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he's affiliated. Axing those rules favor "a new national broadcasting powerhouse with unprecedented reach" over localism, Wheeler said, saying Sinclair, with its planned buy of Tribune Media, is "the consistent beneficiary" of the rule changes. He said the FCC has "one last chance ... to stand up for localism" by blocking Sinclair/Tribune. He said DOJ review of the deal is limited to strict antitrust statutes, but FCC broader public interest standard gives it the opportunity to point to eroding localism as a reason for opposition. The agency didn't comment Friday.