The coming wave of media consolidation

The FCC just voted to repeal regulations that were put in place to ensure the public would hear a diversity of views. Here's what it all means.

Media consolidation.
(Image credit: REUTERS/Eric Thayer)

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"More media consolidation may be coming, thanks to President Trump's Federal Communications Commission," said Seth Fiegerman at CNN. The Republican-led agency last week voted 3-2 "along party lines" to repeal 40-year-old rules preventing a media company from owning a radio or TV station and a newspaper, or from owning multiple TV stations, in the same market. The regulations were put in place in the 1970s to ensure that the public would hear a diversity of views. But in the age of the internet, said Trump-installed FCC Chair Ajit Pai, such restrictions are outdated. To critics, the ruling seems "tailor-made to allow" the nation's biggest TV station owner, Sinclair Broadcast Group, to proceed with its plan to buy Tribune Media, another massive station owner, said Ted Johnson at Variety. Sinclair, which requires its stations to run conservative commentary on national topics, would own 223 TV stations nationwide — far more than any other broadcasting company — reaching roughly 72 percent of U.S. households. Sinclair chairman David Smith is friendly with President Trump, and Smith has been accused of using pro-Trump news coverage to "help grease the wheels" for the deal.

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