(Read this 2017 dailykos diary about “Joint Sales Agreements” or JSAs, which some experts say Sinclair uses to follow the letter of the law while violating its spirit. While selling off a station under a JSA -- FCC unfortunately “blessed” JSAs back in the frenzy of rule changes in late 2017 -- a company such as Sinclair could still control the content of broadcasts at the stations they no longer officially own.)
(Update: Sue Wilson is encouraging people to call congress and share this story before it gets buried by the FCC.)
So how, what, where, who? Ihor, that’s who:
“Ihor Gawdiak, who filed a petition that became public Wednesday, argues he has standing as a regular viewer of the three TV stations seeking license renewal.”
Yes, we still have an FCC. We still have rules. These are still “publicly owned airwaves”. And someone is opposing the renewal of three <strike>Sinclair</strike> tv broadcasting licenses in his area controlled by Sinclair.
”Those include WBFF Fox45, licensed by Chesapeake Television Licensee, a Sinclair entity; WNUV CW, licensed by Cunningham Broadcasting Corp.; and WUTB MyTV, licensed by Deerfield Media.”
The petition argues that Sinclair controls all three licensees, which it says hurts viewers such as Gawdiak by diminishing the number of voices, the diversity of points of view and the quality of available television programming in the Baltimore market.
“Sinclair controls three television stations in Baltimore, while the FCC rules do not permit it to control more than one,” the petition says.
The unpaywalled article can be read in full at the Baltimore Sun.
For background, see this transcript and video of John Oliver’s expose on Sinclair Broadcast Group from 2017.
The latest episode of “Rick Steves” on PBS is about “Fascism in Europe”. I’ve never watched Rick Steves before but this was riveting and terrifying. The Italian and German tour guides implore the American TV host to never think of democracy as anything but fragile. Defend democracy with vigilance, they tell him and his viewers. And the episode features long examples of the vital role propaganda plays in bringing fascism to the fore.
