Groups To File Opposition To Sinclair-Tribune

On Monday, an alliance of representatives from diverse corners of the media industry will come together to hold a press call announcing their FCC filings in opposition to the Sinclair Broadcasting-Tribune Media merger and reiterating their strong commitment to protecting independent local news. As a group, these representatives will call for the Sinclair-Tribune merger to be rejected.

By TVNewsCheck | August 4, 2017 | 2:10 p.m. ET.

What: Press Call to Protect Local Independent News in the Face of the Sinclair-Tribune Merger

When: Monday, August 7, 2017; 11:30 AM EST

Who: Michael Copps, Former FCC Commissioner and Special Adviser, Common Cause

Jeff Blum, Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, DISH

Matthew Polka, President and CEO, American Cable Association

Charles Herring, President, One American News Network

BRAND CONNECTIONS

Ed Black, President and CEO, Computer and Communications Industry Association

Dial-In: 888-632-3382; PASSWORD: MERGER

Snead Hearn says:

August 4, 2017 at 3:24 pm

Protecting independent local news from Sinclair. Sounds like what Michael Copps said years ago about consolidation. Good luck… As I recall Michael Copps had an opportunity to stop the Comcast/NBC purchase but that went through so I guess that was good for everyone. The “horse has left the barn” and maybe the FCC should have closed the door 10+ years ago. No uproar on Nexstar buying Media General so we are to assume their news is non-threatening. Hard time believing any of the mergers for the past 10+ years really benefited local markets but it made shareholders happy….

Julien Devereux says:

August 4, 2017 at 4:12 pm

You got that right, Old School. Consolidation is the worst thing to happen to broadcasting since Betty White was born, and that was 2 years before sliced bread (making sliced bread the coolest thing since Betty White).

“Owning a radio station is like having a license to print money” has instead become billions of dollars in strangling debt thanks to consolidation. I’ll bet 75% of all the jobs in the industry in rated markets are gone, (“synergies”) and those that are left now work multiple jobs or at multiple stations, thanks to consolidation. iHeart hasn’t made a dent in their $20 billion debt and they’re trying for the tenth unsuccessful time to restructure the debt before a big balloon payment comes due. Cumulus has only a quarter of that debt, and they’re struggling under the load. They’ve both sold all of their physical assets like buildings and towersites and haven’t made a noticeable difference. The only people who made a lot of money out of consolidation were the people who sold their stations to these two companies, and the Mays family.

The evidence is all there that consolidation is NOT a good thing. And yet. Sinclair is trying to do it anyway. There goes the TV industry….

yin yu says:

August 4, 2017 at 4:01 pm

“Local Independent News” like covering car wrecks, house fires, victimhood and amimal antics with clueless anchors who introduce world war “eleven” veterans? There is no local TV News. Just fluff that is branded as news. How could Sinclair do any worse?

Dan Levitt says:

August 5, 2017 at 10:35 am

yesmam is right, Tribune is a succession of the hiring-from-within club and rarely if ever higher outside managers with REAL Broadcast experience in major markets. Tribune management are the people that pretty much never worked anywhere else to begin with and have been promoted by playing the game. The influence from Telerep Ad Sales is obvious and it seems like everyone is under their control and they are now calling all the shots. Telerep seems to have total control over most of the independent station groups like Sinclair and Hearst etc. in that if an Exec loses their position at Tribune they are picked up by Hearst as soon as possible because they all have the Telerep connection. Clearly the downfall of Tribune is due to the Telerep control of content which focuses more on the Ads creeping into the product than TV Professionals that know what good content is and the advertising will follow.