It's time to speak up loudly to the FCC to save our local TV news! The newly captured and Trump-led Federal Communications Commission is taking comments right now from the public about any and all broadcast regulations we think should be changed or removed entirely. It sounds innocuous enough, but...the so-called "Delete, Delete, Delete" initiative is aimed at nothing less than destroying all competition in local TV news, effectively destroying local news itself...
There are two issues of note here, both designed to prevent a single giant corporation from having too large of a voice in both our local communities and our national zeitgeist. Nationally, the 1996 Telecommunications Act provides that one TV broadcaster may reach no more than 39% of the total U.S. population. Locally, FCC Rules mandate that broadcasters may license One network TV station (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC) plus one non-network (think CW) station in a single local TV market unless they obtain a waiver from the Commission. The National Association of Broadcasters are trying to upend both (and falsely claiming the 39% cap is an FCC rule, when it is actual statutory law.)
How many of you switch from one local TV station to another, only to see the exact same report? Not just the same reporter, but the exact same report? It's happening all across the nation. I have witnessed it, and so have millions. This is the model Big Broadcasting (Sinclair, Nexstar, Tegna and others) are already using. Now, potentially with the help of their own regulators on a captured FCC, they're trying to expand that model.
This pattern plays out in dozens of local TV markets across the United States, and not just with Sinclair, a notorious right-wing outlet. As my organization, Media Action Center, pointed out in Comments to the FCC and an Amicus Brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, when Nexstar, Sinclair, Tegna and others control two or three stations in the same town, they merely broadcast the exact same stories across all of their stations.
Last month, the new Trump-confirmed FCC Chair Brendan Carr put out a statement on X/Twitter describing his deregulatory "Delete, Delete, Delete!" initiative. The text of the tweet with the attachment statement trumpeted: "NEW: Chairman Carr has announced a massive new deregulatory initiative, opening up a docket to seek comment on every rule, regulation or guidance document that the FCC should eliminate to alleviate unnecessary regulatory burdens." The statement itself explains: "The FCC is committed to ending all the rules and regulations that are no longer necessary. And we welcome the public's participation and feedback throughout this process."
Isn't this great? A Federal Agency asking We the People what we think! Except...Most people don't know that much about broadcast policy or regulations, burdensome or otherwise. Most don't know that We the People own the airwaves and Big Media must be licensed to broadcast over our airwaves, and there are laws and rules protecting our interests.
So what did Nexstar Media Group do in response?...


