Ownership

January 20 marks the one-year anniversary of Donald Trump’s inauguration. With little indication of what his communications policy plans were before the election, now seems a good time to reflect on what his Administration’s priorities have been over the past 12 months. Here’s a look at what Trump's Federal Communications Commission decided to tackle first in 2017.

Early signs suggest the legal fight over AT&T’s $85 billion Time Warner takeover will focus heavily on the small screen, drawing much of its evidence from the companies’ video rivals. Those competitors argue the telecom company will use Time Warner’s entertainment assets against them.

President Donald Trump repeated a pledge to change the nation’s libel laws in a way that would make it easier for people to sue news organizations and publishers for defamation, another salvo from a president who has expressed hostility toward longstanding press freedoms. “We are going to take a strong look at our country’s libel laws, so that when somebody says something that is false and defamatory about someone, that person will have meaningful recourse in our courts,” President Trump said. Expanding on the theme, he added, “Our current libel laws are a sham and a disgrace and do not rep

Thomas Donohue, the president and CEO of the US Chamber of Commerce, warned against the growing skepticism of technology giants, arguing that the businesses are vital for growth and innovation. In his 2018 “State of American Business Address,” Donohue said it’s important not to overregulate an industry that is “improving people’s everyday lives.” “This is especially important as a backlash against major tech companies is gaining strength — both at home and abroad, and among consumers and governments alike,” he said, according to a transcript of his prepared remarks.

[Commentary] Historically, the Federal Communications Commission has carried out its congressional charge to uphold the public interest in the airwaves by protecting broadcaster’s obligation to localism. Unfortunately, the Trump FCC is now proceeding to dismantle the policies that made American broadcasting great. The beneficiaries will be the big corporate broadcasters. The losers will be American viewers and democratic values.

[Tom Wheeler served as the 31st Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission from 2013-2017]

Facebook wants to make it easier for people to find local news from vetted sources. The social network is testing a new section inside its app called “Today In,” a feed made up entirely of local news, events and announcements. The test is running in just six cities for now: New Orleans (LA), Little Rock (AR), Billings (MT), Peoria (IL), Olympia (WA), and Binghamton (NY). Facebook users who self-identify as living in those areas will be able to visit the new section to see local information, like stories from local publishers or emergency updates from local authorities.

[Commentary] While we’re engaging in a new assessment of technology’s transformative impacts, no one should leave aside tech’s most physically enormous influence: its big role in reshaping the nation’s urban geography. Scholars have for years suggested that tech might alter the city hierarchy. Most notably, Beaudry, Doms, and Lewis showed more than a decade ago that the cities that adopted personal computers earliest and fastest saw their relative wages increase the quickest.

Sinclair Broadcast Group likely will face demands to sell TV stations in at least 10 cities to satisfy regulators who are wrapping up a review of the company’s plan to buy Tribune Media Co. -- a $3.9 billion deal that would create a national broadcasting giant.  Apparently, Federal Communications Commission staff members in a recent discussion focused on completing the review by a self-imposed deadline of Jan. 17.  The deal would create a coast-to-coast string of stations exceeding current ownership limits and Sinclair has acknowledged that it might have to sell some of the stations.

Demand Progress, which strongly opposes Sinclair's proposed purchase of Tribune, wants the Federal Communications Commission inspector general (IG) to investigate FCC Chairman Ajit Pai over what it suggests are decisions meant to favor the broadcaster. "From the beginning, chairman Pai has been eager to roll out the red carpet for Sinclair and grease the wheels to enable this merger to happen," Demand Progress said in launching the petition.

Stephen K. Bannon is stepping down from his post as executive chairman of Breitbart News. Bannon’s departure, which was forced by a onetime financial patron, Rebekah Mercer, comes as Bannon remained unable to quell the furor over remarks attributed to him in a new book in which he questions President Donald Trump’s mental fitness and disparages his elder son, Donald Trump Jr. Bannon and Breitbart will work together on a smooth transition, a statement from the company’s chief executive, Larry Solov, said.