1. Monthly archive
  2. November 2017

November 2017

Sinclair Also Targeting DOJ Ownership Cap

Even if the Federal Communications Commission relaxes its ownership rules, Sinclair and other broadcasters would still be blocked from owning two network affiliates in many cases by Justice Department antitrust regulators who have a cap of their own. It limits a broadcaster to controlling no more than 40% of the market's broadcast TV revenue. So, Sinclair is waging a campaign to increase that percentage by changing the way regulators define the local market.

AT&T-Time Warner Merger in Jeopardy: 5 Scenarios for What Happens Next

The $85 billion merger of AT&T and Time Warner suddenly seems to be in jeopardy. So how will this play out? Here are five possible scenarios.

  1. Time Warner Unbundles
  2. The Justice Department Blinks
  3. Mega-Deal Gets Its Day in Court
  4. AT&T Just Moves On
  5. Time Warner Becomes the Belle of the Bidding Ball – Again
     

 

 

FCC Mediating AT&T Redlining Complaint

The Federal Communications Commission is attempting to mediate the broadband redlining complaint filed against AT&T by attorney Daryl Parks on behalf of "Cleveland broadband consumers," according to Parks, who says he is ready to talk, but also to sue. According to Parks' office, they are scheduled for a Nov. 13-14 session with AT&T and FCC staffers to try and resolve the complaint. "It is my sincere desire to resolve these matters during the November 13 - 14 FCC staff monitored mediation session," said Parks.

Congress’s end run around a pillar of online free speech

Free-speech advocates  -- including the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Center for Democracy and Technology—are afraid that a bill currently making its way through Congress could significantly weaken existing protections for online speech. In the United States, one of the most critical planks supporting free expression online is a section of the 1996 Communications Decency Act known as Section 230, often referred to as the “safe harbor” clause.

Pai's Big-Media Handout Won't Help Communities

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai claimed in a New York Times Op-Ed that his ill-conceived plans to overhaul media-ownership rules are in fact a long-overdue move to rescue the struggling newspaper industry. The chairman’s piece is rife with lies of omission that render his argument meaningless.

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