Conservative Media Voices Line Up Against Trump-Friendly Sinclair’s Purchase Of Tribune

One America News CEO Charles Herring blasted the Federal Communications Commission’s recent decision to relax media ownership rules, a move that could pave the way for Sinclair’s $3.9 billion purchase of Tribune Media and allow the broadcast company to extend its reach into more than 70 percent of U.S. homes. “Utilizing the ‘UHF discount,’ which is an antiquated, irrelevant regulation, is really politics at its worst,” Herring said Aug 7, referring to a loophole around a federal cap limiting ownership to 39 percent of the national audience.

While the proposed deal has faced challenges from progressive groups, media consolidation critics and Democratic senators, it’s is also being opposed by conservative media voices, like Herring, who are typically aligned with the president. Christopher Ruddy, a President Donald Trump friend and CEO of conservative Newsmax, in July called for a delay in the government approval process of the Sinclair-Tribune deal. And Glenn Beck’s The Blaze joined several independent media outlets in a June letter to the chairs of the Senate Commerce and Judiciary committees. “Regardless of political affiliation, we should agree that robust democracy demands a variety of viewpoints from a myriad of sources; yet, the Sinclair/Tribune merger threatens this core value,” the letter read.