Washington—The Communications Workers of America and two of its media workers’ affiliates urged the 
Federal Communications Commission to deny the proposed merger between the Sinclair Broadcast Group and the Tribune Media Company. The CWA, along with the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians and The NewsGuild, filed comments Aug. 29 arguing that the merger would destroy jobs and do “substantial harm to competition, diversity, localism, and the public interest.” The $3.9 billion deal, they said, would leave Sinclair-Tribune owning and operating 223 television stations in 108 markets, and reaching 72% of US television households—almost twice the legal maximum of 39%. They also said that Sinclair’s “central casting” model forces local stations to run “centrally originated” programming, often with a far-right slant. The merger has also drawn opposition from the right-wing media outlets Newsmax and the Blaze, the American Cable Association trade organization, and the liberal-leaning public-interest groups Common Cause and Free Press. Read more
