Sinclair, Tribune Close to Merger Deal

[GoldenShine9 1509]

State Attorneys General from four states (IL, MA, MD, & RI) have filed opposition of the deal. Illinois AG Lisa Madigan urged the FCC to hold off any consideration of the deal until the DC Circuit rules in the UHF loophole case.

 

Today was the last day to file comment, as the FCC extended its comment period a couple of weeks ago.

 

So Free Press has also filed additional comment.

 

Well over 3,000 comments have been filed, and they are still going through them.

 

The fact that Sinclair has been a bully through all this, and dishonest to the FCC, means that the deal should be dismissed and denied - something that I would rarely suggest.

[Rusty Muck 4168]

The fact that Sinclair has been a bully through all this, and dishonest to the FCC, means that the deal should be dismissed and denied - something that I would rarely suggest.

Instead Paid Off and the other two Generic Republican Commissioner Crooks will approve it with a 3-2 vote despite all evidence to the contrary and the volume of opposition.

 

It’s always Party over Country with those people.

[TVNewsLover 728]

Instead Paid Off and the other two Generic Republican Commissioner Crooks will approve it with a 3-2 vote despite all evidence to the contrary and the volume of opposition.

 

It’s always Party over Country with those people.

Newsflash: The Democrats are just as bad as the Republicans. Also, not sure why you keep referring to people with code names either. We're not little kids. I think you're point would be taken more seriously if you used proper names.

[Rusty Muck 4168]

Newsflash: The Democrats are just as bad as the Republicans. Also, not sure why you keep referring to people with code names either. We're not little kids. I think you're point would be taken more seriously if you used proper names.

Paid Off met with the Smith family before Trump took office. He IS completely bought and paid for by Sinclair to do their bidding.

 

He doesn’t deserve a smidgen of respect ... in fact, he should be straight-up removed from the office and investigated endlessly for engaging in collusion to benefit one company, and one company only, because that company uses their resources as agitprop to benefit the Republican Party.

[hmaxhanson 650]

I'll just bet Sinclair will use Tuesday's NYC massacre for their own advantage, saying that the incident could've been prevented had WPIX been airing their quote-unquote "Terrorism" Alert Desk!

[mardek1995 200]

I'll just bet Sinclair will use Tuesday's NYC massacre for their own advantage, saying that the incident could've been prevented had WPIX been airing their quote-unquote "Terrorism" Alert Desk!

But there is a lot more terrorism than we'd like to admit. Maybe not here in America (yet), but a lot in Europe, at least once every month, which is suspiciously bad. That said, who'd take the "Terrorism Alert Desk" seriously? I don't. And Sinclair, while it does have a slant that can sometimes be ridiculous even now, it isn't the only station group that is slanted.

 

Well, you and I can both be relieved because not even Sinclair would dare hire Bill F***ing O'Reilly: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-sinclair-oreilly-tribune-20171101-story.html

 

That said, he still did nothing wrong for that one time. Still hate the dickface though.

Yes, we can all be relieved. Though at the same time, I feel sorry for him and I'm also starting to wonder if Rupert Murdoch ruined his reputation because he no longer had any use for him.

 

I'm no fan of Sinclair (if anything, I'd rather Fox bought Tribune instead), but I have to ask, what about the Nexstar-Media General merger? Nobody was as panicked about that as they are about the Sinclair-Tribune merger.

[brianpr3 173]

I wonder can it be stopped by someone suing?

[NEOMatrix 1295]

Meanwhile at WGN America, they're importing a series from the Great White North:

http://deadline.com/2017/07/bellevue-wgn-america-acquires-canadian-drama-series-anna-paquin-stars-trailer-1202139054/

Honestly, I thought they were going to be a rerun channel a la Ion.

[Action Newsroom 1150]

Meanwhile at WGN America, they're importing a series from the Great White North [...]

Honestly, I thought they were going to be a rerun channel a la Ion.

They still will/do, but their new game plan also includes acquiring series (whether still airing or cancelled [although most are the latter]) from other countries. Many people have either mocked this plan for dear life or wished Underground would return. Or both.

[ToriElectra 291]

Meanwhile at WGN America, they're importing a series from the Great White North:

http://deadline.com/2017/07/bellevue-wgn-america-acquires-canadian-drama-series-anna-paquin-stars-trailer-1202139054/

Honestly, I thought they were going to be a rerun channel a la Ion.

It's not the first time they've done this- back in 2008, during the dark days of Sam Zell (and the inexplicable "eyes" logo), they were the first place in the US to air the awesome Canadian sitcom Corner Gas.

[T.L. Hughes 752]

Thirteen Congressional Democrats, led by California Rep. Jerry McNerney, are seeking to get the FCC to delay the vote to relax FCC ownership rules until the agency conducts a thorough public comment process. Meanwhile, Sinclair's shameless greed is boundless as it is apparently seeking to get the Department of Justice to relax its antitrust restrictions on broadcast ownership.

 

At this rate, whether Pai budges depends on if Dems put the same pressure that made the Broadcast Bureau go through a so-called by-the-book review of the Sinclair-Tribune deal; the TVNewsCheck article, however, notes that it may be a little more difficult for it to convince the DOJ Antitrust Division to revise its advertising share cap to avoid making divestments. In any event, expect the lawsuit to curb the ownership rule changes to cite the lack of invitation for public comment as a reason to overturn it.

 

Paid Off met with the Smith family before Trump took office. He IS completely bought and paid for by Sinclair to do their bidding.

 

He doesn’t deserve a smidgen of respect ... in fact, he should be straight-up removed from the office and investigated endlessly for engaging in collusion to benefit one company, and one company only, because that company uses their resources as agitprop to benefit the Republican Party.

 

If it looks like a duck, smells like a duck and sounds like a duck, it's most likely a duck. However, the only way that Pai gets removed is if some sort of investigation -- probably an independent one conducted by The Washington Post, The New York Times or another major newspaper -- actually reveals that Pai had engaged in corruption on Sinclair's insistence. I think that some sort of payment/gift arrangement may have been conspired, but if there is, evidence is need. And if David Smith or Chris Ripley did have a grafting arrangement in place with Pai and either or both of the two conservative comissioners, Sinclair would (and should) find itself ending up like RKO General.

[hmaxhanson 650]

I know it's likely wishful thinking, but could this weeks wins for the Democrats have any affect on this ongoing M&A soap opera?

[T.L. Hughes 752]

I know it's likely wishful thinking, but could this weeks wins for the Democrats have any affect on this ongoing M&A soap opera?

No. Democrats didn't add any Congressional seats in this election, that chance is coming for the remaining Congressional special elections being held before the end of the year and next November's midterms. Also, Ajit Pai's already been reconfirmed as FCC Chair, so nothing can be done about it at this point.

 

If the Democratic Party does take the House and/or Senate in the midterms, expect investigations into Pai's conduct in dealing with the Sinclair-Tribune deal to begin after the start of the next Congressional meeting period, barring any aforementioned press expose. And, if they can find direct evidence of corruption in his dealings with Sinclair, a request for resignation will come.

[hmaxhanson 650]

No. Democrats didn't add any Congressional seats in this election, that chance is coming for the remaining Congressional special elections being held before the end of the year and next November's midterms. Also, Ajit Pai's already been reconfirmed as FCC Chair, so nothing can be done about it at this point.

 

If the Democratic Party does take the House and/or Senate in the midterms, expect investigations into Pai's conduct in dealing with the Sinclair-Tribune deal to begin after the start of the next Congressional meeting period, barring any aforementioned press expose. And, if they can find direct evidence of corruption in his dealings with Sinclair, a request for resignation will come.

 

Oh well. A guy can dream, can he?

[mardek1995 200]

Well over 3,000 comments have been filed, and they are still going through them.

 

The fact that Sinclair has been a bully through all this, and dishonest to the FCC, means that the deal should be dismissed and denied - something that I would rarely suggest.

How has Sinclair been a bully through all this? Sure, I'd rather Fox buy Tribune instead but, how would Sinclair be a bully? Unless David Smith is directly involved, which wouldn't surprise me given how he's still in the company. Only now, he's chairman rather than CEO, which, by the way, he was promoted into.

[Weeters 1811]

I wonder can it be stopped by someone suing?

 

No. It’s a completely legal business transaction. You can’t sue just because you don’t like something.

[NowBergen 486]

If the DOJ is concerned about anti-competitiveness and/or media consolidaton (supposedly) with the AT&T Time Warner merger (which is complementary, no matter how you feel about it), then taking a different perspective with Sincalir Tribune shows something stinks in Paid Off ville.

[CircleSeven 1944]

Now the House Dems wants more info, specifically they want more info relating to correspondence between Pai's office and Sinclair reps.

 

They want Pai to respond to this latest request by October 12.

 

Follow-up.

 

Since the House Dems haven't received any further correspondence from Pai, they have now turned to the Inspector General of the FCC for assistence in investigating Pai's actions to "improperly" benefit Sinclair.

 

Now if they aren't hearing anything from Pai, what are the chances they're going to hear anything from FCC's IG?

 

It's obvious why they're making noise, because the FCC is going to vote on the Media Ownership measure this Thursday.

[CircleSeven 1944]

Now this has nothing to do with this transaction, but there might be a connection......

 

Cunningham has bought London Broadcasting's KTXD for $9.5M.

 

It's very interesting that this deal has been greenlighted, since the overall Sinclair-Tribune deal hasn't.

[CircleSeven 1944]

Follow-up.

 

Since the House Dems haven't received any further correspondence from Pai, they have now turned to the Inspector General of the FCC for assistence in investigating Pai's actions to "improperly" benefit Sinclair.

 

Now if they aren't hearing anything from Pai, what are the chan[ces they're going to hear anything from FCC's IG?

 

It's obvious why they're making noise, because the FCC is going to vote on the Media Ownership measure this Thursday.

 

The noise just keeps on cranking, as the dereg vote is tomorrow.

 

The Senate Dems have sent their own letter to the IG to "investigate" on Pai's actions.

 

They have also have wrote a separate letter to Pai to recuse himself from voting that deregulatory meausre in tomorrow's FCC meeting. And they were asked to halt any further action in regards to the Sinclair-Tribune transaction until the "investigation" is completed.

[T.L. Hughes 752]

The noise just keeps on cranking, as the dereg vote is tomorrow.

 

The Senate Dems have sent their own letter to the IG to "investigate" on Pai's actions.

 

They have also have wrote a separate letter to Pai to recuse himself from voting that deregulatory meausre in tomorrow's FCC meeting. And they were asked to halt any further action in regards to the Sinclair-Tribune transaction until the "investigation" is completed.

Recuse himself? I don't think that's happening. But if it did happen, it would deadlock the vote 2-2. I'm not sure what protocols could be taken if a tie vote would occur in such a scenario, like how the Vice President has the ability to cast a tiebreaker vote in the Senate if a piece of legislation has a 50-50 tie, or if a tie would sink the passage of the dereg proposal.

[CircleSeven 1944]

Recuse himself? I don't think that's happening. But if it did happen, it would deadlock the vote 2-2. I'm not sure what protocols could be taken if a tie vote would occur in such a scenario, like how the Vice President has the ability to cast a tiebreaker vote in the Senate if a piece of legislation has a 50-50 tie, or if it would sink the passage of the dereg proposal.

 

Look, Pai is not going to recuse himself from tomorrow's vote. And I don't think this IG is going to do anything to satisfy the Dems on any investigation on either Pai or whoever else.

[T.L. Hughes 752]

Look, Pai is not going to recuse himself from tomorrow's vote. And I don't think this IG is going to do anything to satisfy the Dems on any investigation on either Pai or whoever else.

The latter part depends on if the IG is Trump-appointed. If he was an Obama holdover, he might. If not, he won't.

[oklahomanewsman 210]

The latter part depends on if the IG is Trump-appointed. If he was an Obama holdover, he might. If not, he won't.

I can tell you that the IG is an Obama holdover.

 

Here's the article from The Hill regarding info for those that don't know who David Hunt is

http://thehill.com/policy/technology/137015-david-hunt-named-fcc-inspector-general

[T.L. Hughes 752]

Well, then there is a glimmer of hope for an investigation. Unfortunately, with the ownership rule proposals set to be voted on today, any investigation that IG Hunt would open would be basically an after-the-fact situation. The only way I see it happening is if the groups preparing to challenge the ownership rule changes ask for the Circuit Court where the case would be filed to call for the IG to look into whether Pai acted in bad faith in his dealings with Sinclair prior to his appointment to the FCC chairmanship and influenced the deregulatory process in violation with government ethics laws and FCC protocol.

 

FCC protocol does play into this, since the proposals being considered are rarely ever voted on outside of a Quadrennial Ownership Review; I don't know whether that is a protocol or a norm, but if it's the former, then the groups have an additional basis to challenge the changes. An actual review isn't being considered until early next year, as Pai himself pointed out (I'm not even sure what else could be proposed there, considering the bulk of the ownership rule changes that Pai and the FCC Chairs of the Dubya era proposed comprise the principal focus of FCC ownership reviews).