Senatorial attack on the First Amendment

[Commentary] On April 11, 11 Democratic senators and Independent Sen. Bernie Sanderssent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai requesting that the proposed merger between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Tribune Media be denied. Their request didn’t stop there; the senators requested not only that Sinclair’s future acquisitions be denied but that its existing broadcast licenses be reviewed and a decision be made on whether they should be revoked. The senators wrote this letter seemingly without a sense of the tremendous ironies laced throughout. First, they express concern over a threat to the First Amendment. Second, they level the accusation that Sinclair’s broadcast decisions are driven by corporate and political agendas. And third, of particular irony is that one of the signers of the April 11 letter, Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), in October sent a letter to the FCC decrying President Trump’s challenge over NBC’s broadcast licenses. His previous letter said “it is inappropriate for the president to propose challenging broadcasters’ licenses because he disagrees with their coverage.” What received comparatively minimal media coverage was the senators’ challenge of Sinclair’s licenses in the first place. Why is that? Why was there no outrage, given what an assault that would be on the First Amendment? I’ll continue searching for the answer.

[David D. Smith is executive chairman of Sinclair Broadcast Group]