Blogocentric Formulations

This Just In - July 16

FCC sends Sinclair mega-deal to likely doom  
Written as part of "This Just In..."   for "Blog Harbor from The Talent Pond" 

Full disclosure, I think Ajit Pai as the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission is one of the worst appointments the Trump Administration has made. He's following the same game plan as Scott Pruitt, Mick Mulvaney, and Betsy DeVos where it seems like he is on a crusade to literally dismantle the organization he's been tasked with overseeing. Earlier this year during the net neutrality fight, Pai's position basically asserted that his own commission should not have any say in regulating broadband/internet providers. Because, you know, AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, Cox, Charter, etc. are such fair, reasonable, and customer service-oriented on their own...

He also slashed regulations that many figured would help pave the way for Sinclair Broadcast Group (which currently controls around 40% of local television stations in the country) to acquire Tribune Media, an acquisition that would give them control of as much as 72% of local stations. That may not seem like a big deal, until you realize that Sinclair Broadcast Group has a conservative bent and actually forces its local news affiliates to air "must run" segments that often have significant political bias. Deadspin posted a creepy video mashup   of a segment their affiliates were required to run, where dozens of anchors across dozens of stations literally delivered the same message. And lest you think a bunch of news anchors basically telling their viewers not to trust the news is an acceptable message, other must-run segments include stories about the FBI having a personal vendetta against Michael Flynn, claims that marriage is a valid method of combating domestic violence, and a piece aired during the 2016 presidential election that suggested voters not support Hillary Clinton because the Democratic Party was historically pro-slavery.

SIDE NOTE: For more information on net neutrality and Sinclair, I highly recommend John Oliver's Last Week Tonight segments on the topics. Yes, it's a left-leaning show. Yes, it's a combination of comedy and news shows. Yes, it's a little crass at times. But John Oliver does a great job of presenting complex topics like the dangers of companies like Sinclair Broadcast Group  , as well as concepts like Net Neutrality I   (and Net Neutrality II  ) in a concise and clear way.

So all of that said, it was a bit of a surprise... and might have been the biggest surprise of the day if not for a certain press conference in Helsinki earlier )... to see this article where Pai expressed "serious concerns" about Sinclair's acquisition of Tribune Media and announced he would subject the merger to an administrative review process so stringent that most experts assume it means the merger is in serious jeopardy, if not dead in its current form.

Now, I don't think that Pai has suddenly had a change of heart. He's a former Associate General Counsel for Verizon and has shown himself repeatedly to be someone who favors a hands-off approach to regulation, even in an industry where the huge conglomerates are known for having monopolistic tendencies and price gouging their customers whenever they have the opportunity. Seriously, when was the last time someone raved about the great service and/or value they're getting from their cable/internet telecom company? And those same companies have posted record profits year after year. So while I do not expect that Pai has miraculously turned over a new leaf, I do believe in giving credit where credit is due, and so I happily consider this a win for those of us who believe that the FCC should still regulate communications companies to prevent them from taking advantage of their customers with onerous financial or overtly political decisions.