The nation’s biggest conservative broadcaster is putting words in its anchors’ mouths. Critics blame the FCC.

Critics say the Federal Communications Commission is responsible for enabling and emboldening the right-leaning Sinclair Broadcast Group in ways that could ultimately hurt conservatives and liberals alike.The FCC eliminated the “main studio rule,” a federal requirement that radio and TV stations operate a physical studio in the areas where they were licensed. In voting to repeal the rule, FCC Chairman Pai said technological advances make it no longer necessary for stations to keep the lights on in a physical studio; many broadcasters, including NPR, agreed. Chairman Pai also said the repeal could help financially struggling broadcasters survive. The chief operator of one small radio station, KMXN in Lawrence (KS), estimated that complying with the rule cost him $5,000 a year. By lifting the main studio rule, the FCC made a decision that benefited broadcasters, including Sinclair's 193 stations. But that isn't the only recent policy change that could help Sinclair as it strives to become an even bigger broadcasting giant. The FCC also repealed a rule that prevented TV stations in a given market from merging if it meant the deal would leave fewer than eight independently owned stations in that market. Chairman Pai has also taken aim at a national cap on broadcast ownership. That rule says no broadcaster can reach more than 39 percent of the nation's households. And one of Pai's first acts was to reinstate an accounting method, known as the UHF discount, that effectively helps big broadcasters stay on the right side of the cap. All these moves could prove beneficial to Sinclair in light of its attempt to acquire Tribune Media.