Race to the Bottom
The controversial, law-bending $3.9 billion merger of Tribune Media and Sinclair TV collapsed Wednesday, August 8th, when Tribune Media’s board voted to terminate the deal.
The merger, which seemed likely, given the FCC’s initial willingness to misapply the outdated “UHF discount” rule, became considerably less certain last month when the FCC criticized Sinclair, casting doubt on Sinclair’s proposed divestitures, which might amount to divestiture in name only. Or, per the actual concern, “sham transactions.”
[pdf-1]Historically, Sinclair’s content has been right-wing. Recently, it has become overtly Trumpian, with mandates for local stations to air editorial segments by Boris Epshteyn, the Russian-born Republican political strategist and investment banker who is now the “chief political analyst” for Sinclair. Epshteyn was also a senior advisor in Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign.
Sinclair/Tribune Mega-Merger Collapses. What Does it Mean for WREG? (2)
The president has been more than happy to return the favor.
The Fake News Networks, those that knowingly have a sick and biased AGENDA, are worried about the competition and quality of Sinclair Broadcast. The “Fakers” at CNN, NBC, ABC & CBS have done so much dishonest reporting that they should only be allowed to get awards for fiction!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 3, 2018
Sinclair/Tribune Mega-Merger Collapses. What Does it Mean for WREG?
What made Trump’s endorsement especially troublesome — even for him — is the fact that Sinclair’s stations operate unbranded. So, in terms of affiliation, the Sinclair stations the president endorses often are actually affiliates of the NBC, ABC, CBS networks he criticizes.
And some Sinclair stations are FOX affiliates. Welcome to the media ownership funhouse.
While much attention is focused on the big, national networks such as CNN, FOX, MSNBC, etc., Sinclair has been creating a vast web of local, network-affiliated stations. Local TV news has more reach than all four major cable news stations combined.
In addition to ending the merger, Tribune is suing Sinclair.
The stake in this deal for Memphians was news station WREG Channel 3. It now appears that for the foreseeable future, Memphis’ Channel 3 will remain a Tribune Media property.
Bye, Boris.
Boris Epshteyn — Not coming to WREG.