Sinclair's growing conservative TV network gets FCC helpSinclair Broadcasting, which could soon own more U.S. television stations than any other company, has a plan to create a near-national network of local stations delivering the news with a conservative bent. And thanks to some help from federal officials, that plan is inching closer to reality. .............
.............. Democrats and critics on the left are angry about the FCC’s moves, which they see as an effort by the Trump administration to clear the way for more conservative-oriented voices on local news stations.
“This agency is organizing all of its media policies around the interests of this one company,” Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democratic member of the FCC, said in an interview. “That’s troubling. That’s not right. It deserves an investigation.” (Each party gets two seats on the five-member commission, and the president appoints the chair.) ...........
.............Sinclair has made little secret of its right-wing political bent. It has required its affiliate stations to run political commentary by Boris Epshteyn, a former Trump White House official, nine times a week. His segments regularly support the administration’s talking points. It has also required stations to run a segment called “Terrorism Alert Desk,” and last year its stations ran a video urging voters not to support Hillary Clinton because the Democratic Party was historically pro-slavery. .............
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/amp/sinclair-s-growing-conservative-tv-network-gets-fcc-help-n821346
