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Who benefits? That query is posed in detective stories spanning authors from Agatha Christie to Scott Turow and beyond. It’s also what I asked myself when I saw the news about bipartisan members of Congress petitioning the FCC to revisit the current ownership rules for broadcast media.
My question is fueled by two different thoughts. The first is that the current executive branch of the U.S. government is the most transactional U.S. administration I’ve ever seen. The president prides himself on his ability to make deals. He expects the same focus, along with absolute loyalty, from all who report to him.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr gets the message. Among his first actions upon assuming the chairmanship was to reinstate bias complaints about coverage of the Trump campaign: ABC, for its handling of the debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris; CBS, questioning the editing of the 60 Minutes interview of Harris; and NBC, which had Harris appear on Saturday Night Live immediately before Election Day.
The second thing driving my question is that the letter sent to Chairman Carr says the reforms requested will allow broadcasters to, among other things, “promote local journalism.” Is that true?
There is no doubt that the broadcasting business is suffering. Advertising dollars are shifting to digital outlets. Research continues to show declines in linear television viewership. Appointment viewing seems to be limited to sports and, among older audiences, news.
To make matters worse, sports programming continues to move to non-broadcast outlets. The NFL, for example, now offers game packages