Sinclair Finds Backdoor to Push Conservative Message

Sinclair Broadcast Group is selling off nearly two dozen TV stations to comply with federal ownership rules — but that may not stop the company from reaching millions of those stations' viewers with its conservative programming. Four of the sales include provisions that would leave the giant broadcaster with a role in the stations' programming, finances and operations, even when it no longer owns them. Sinclair has made these kinds of arrangements before as it has sold off some of its outlets. But the conditions attached to the station sales are attracting new scrutiny as the company pursues a $3.9 billion merger with Tribune Media that would expand Sinclair's access to households across the country. "This is a technique that was developed by slick lawyers for the purpose of getting around the rules," said former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler. "It borders on a regulatory fraud."

One buyer of Sinclair stations, conservative commentator Armstrong Williams, pushed back on the notion that Sinclair would control the stations he's purchasing in Seattle (WA), Salt Lake City (UT), and Oklahoma City (OK). "I get to reject something that I don't want to run," he said. But the deals present a major test for Republican FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, who faces scrutiny over a number of agency actions that critics say have benefited Sinclair.