SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
"Here we have a Trump appointee who's dumping all consumer safeguards to enable Sinclair to reach more than 70 percent of the country with its racist views and Republican talking points." (Photo: Freepress Action Fund)
The FCC Chairman Is Under Investigation
The New York Times is reporting this morning that the FCC inspector general is actively investigating whether FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and his aides improperly pushed for rule changes that would clear the way for Sinclair's purchase of Tribune Media.
Feb 16, 2018
That's right: Pai is so sketchy that his own agency has launched an investigation against him.
The right-wing Sinclair, which wants to buy Tribune Media, already owns more local-TV stations than any other company. The broadcaster and the Trump team had a cozy relationship throughout the campaign -- and Jared Kushner even claimed that the campaign struck a deal for more favorable coverage. And Pai met with Sinclair executives three days before Trump appointed him to chair the FCC.
Since his appointment as FCC chairman, Pai has worked overtime to clear the decks for Sinclair's purchase of Tribune: He's reduced the agency's longstanding media-ownership limits and overturned rules that required broadcasters to maintain physical studios wherever they broadcast.
Conflict of interest, much?
Everything about the Sinclair-Tribune deal is offensive. Here we have a Trump appointee who's dumping all consumer safeguards to enable Sinclair to reach more than 70 percent of the country with its racist views and Republican talking points.
And Sinclair isn't an ordinary broadcast conglomerate. It overrides the objections of local journalists and forces its stations to run daily conservative commentaries and biased stories on the local news -- including features from the "Terrorism Alert Desk," which depicts all Muslims as terrorists.
If that weren't enough, this deal is straight up against the law. It would violate a congressional mandate that says that one company can't reach more than 39 percent of households nationwide.
With an active investigation of Pai underway, there's no way he should be involved in reviewing this deal.
Demand that Pai recuse himself from decisions on the Sinclair merger.
An Unconstitutional Rampage
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.
That's right: Pai is so sketchy that his own agency has launched an investigation against him.
The right-wing Sinclair, which wants to buy Tribune Media, already owns more local-TV stations than any other company. The broadcaster and the Trump team had a cozy relationship throughout the campaign -- and Jared Kushner even claimed that the campaign struck a deal for more favorable coverage. And Pai met with Sinclair executives three days before Trump appointed him to chair the FCC.
Since his appointment as FCC chairman, Pai has worked overtime to clear the decks for Sinclair's purchase of Tribune: He's reduced the agency's longstanding media-ownership limits and overturned rules that required broadcasters to maintain physical studios wherever they broadcast.
Conflict of interest, much?
Everything about the Sinclair-Tribune deal is offensive. Here we have a Trump appointee who's dumping all consumer safeguards to enable Sinclair to reach more than 70 percent of the country with its racist views and Republican talking points.
And Sinclair isn't an ordinary broadcast conglomerate. It overrides the objections of local journalists and forces its stations to run daily conservative commentaries and biased stories on the local news -- including features from the "Terrorism Alert Desk," which depicts all Muslims as terrorists.
If that weren't enough, this deal is straight up against the law. It would violate a congressional mandate that says that one company can't reach more than 39 percent of households nationwide.
With an active investigation of Pai underway, there's no way he should be involved in reviewing this deal.
Demand that Pai recuse himself from decisions on the Sinclair merger.
That's right: Pai is so sketchy that his own agency has launched an investigation against him.
The right-wing Sinclair, which wants to buy Tribune Media, already owns more local-TV stations than any other company. The broadcaster and the Trump team had a cozy relationship throughout the campaign -- and Jared Kushner even claimed that the campaign struck a deal for more favorable coverage. And Pai met with Sinclair executives three days before Trump appointed him to chair the FCC.
Since his appointment as FCC chairman, Pai has worked overtime to clear the decks for Sinclair's purchase of Tribune: He's reduced the agency's longstanding media-ownership limits and overturned rules that required broadcasters to maintain physical studios wherever they broadcast.
Conflict of interest, much?
Everything about the Sinclair-Tribune deal is offensive. Here we have a Trump appointee who's dumping all consumer safeguards to enable Sinclair to reach more than 70 percent of the country with its racist views and Republican talking points.
And Sinclair isn't an ordinary broadcast conglomerate. It overrides the objections of local journalists and forces its stations to run daily conservative commentaries and biased stories on the local news -- including features from the "Terrorism Alert Desk," which depicts all Muslims as terrorists.
If that weren't enough, this deal is straight up against the law. It would violate a congressional mandate that says that one company can't reach more than 39 percent of households nationwide.
With an active investigation of Pai underway, there's no way he should be involved in reviewing this deal.
Demand that Pai recuse himself from decisions on the Sinclair merger.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.