Left, right, and center agree: Sinclair-Tribune merger is bad news

A Capitol Hill event hosted by Representative Cardenas (CA-29), whose Los Angeles area district would see the Sinclair acquisition of Tribune-owned KTLA, featured voices on the left, the right, and the political center who all agree: the proposed Sinclair-Tribune merger is bad for competition, viewpoint diversity, and jobs – and should be rejected.

Gene Kimmelman, former DOJ antitrust official and president of public interest group Public Knowledge, warned that the merger “nationalizes” local news and harms competition. Francella Ochillo, of the National Hispanic Media Coalition, emphasized that the massive consolidation of Sinclair and Tribune would make it more difficult for diverse voices to be heard.

John Simpson, from conservative Newsmax, citing a recent article “Why Trump should block the Sinclair merger” by former Representative Tom DeLay, argued that conservatives who think the Sinclair merger will challenge liberal media bias are short-sighted. In the long run, Simpson said, the Sinclair-Tribune merger opens the door to massive media consolidation – including by so-called liberal media companies.

The Coalition to Save Local Media – a broad, politically diverse coalition committed to stopping the Sinclair-Tribune merger – brought their case to the FCC, noting that the merger would result in significant job cuts, the loss of local news, sports, and weather operations, higher fees for independent programmers, that would lead to higher prices with fewer choices for consumers.

As the FCC and DOJ merger review timeline ticks down, opponents from the left, right, and center all agree: nix this merger that would threaten the diversity of voices upon which our democracy depends.

Links:

Why Trump should block the Sinclair merger (Politico, Jan. 31, 2018)

NABET-CWA joins broad coalition to stop Sinclair-Tribune merger (Speed Matters, Nov. 9, 2017)