Trump FCC Destroying Broadcast Localism, Wheeler Says
The Trump FCC is dismantling polices encouraging competition and localism that “made American broadcasting great,” said former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler in a blog post Thursday. “The beneficiaries will be the big corporate broadcasters. The losers will be American…
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viewers and democratic values.” Recent FCC policy changes to facilitate joint sales agreements and allow for more common ownership will hurt broadcaster local news operations, and the Sinclair/Tribune merger will do the same, Wheeler said. “When Sinclair controls access to 72 percent of all American households after the merger, the situation will become even worse for localism,” Wheeler said. The FCC “loosened its rules in order to facilitate” the Sinclair deal, and Sinclair “weaseled around the policies that would have previously barred this consolidation,” Wheeler said. The Internet created a void in local news reporting that broadcasters could have stepped into, but have so far ignored, he said. Broadcast TV “is failing to meet its local responsibilities precisely when new technology is also failing local needs,” Wheeler said. The FCC and Sinclair didn't comment.