The Sinclair Horrorshow Is the Result of Decades of Failing to Take Media Consolidation Worries Seriously

April 5th, 2018

Awake Goy

For decades, consumer advocates and media watchdogs have warned about the dangers of media consolidation and the nation’s obsession with often-mindless merger mania. And for just as long, many consumers and tech analysts ignored those warnings, clearly bored by concerns that such consolidation harms quality local reporting, competition, and quality discourse.

They’re paying attention now.

Sinclair’s planned $3.9 billion acquisition of Tribune would give it ownership of more than 230 broadcast stations, reaching 72 percent of the American public. Given that the broadcaster has been widely criticized for “news” that tends to be facts-optional on a good day, the company’s expansion efforts have seen renewed criticism in light of America’s disinformation problem.

This week, a new Deadspin report and video drove that point home, highlighting how the company demands that its local news anchors repeat factually-challenged, pro-Trump missives in relatively creepy nationwide unison:

Opposition to Sinclair’s blockbuster deal is bipartisan. Democrats argue the merger will allow a broadcaster with a tendency toward hyperbole to further mislead the American public. Republicans worry that the merger will have a profoundly negative impact on the ability of smaller news outlets to make inroads in a market already dominated by giants.