Who owns, controls, or influences media and telecommunications outlets.
Ownership
A $20 Billion Wireless Stockpile Is the Key to T-Mobile Merger
About $20 billion worth of wireless airwaves are sitting dormant, public goods whose rights were acquired by Dish, in government auctions over the past decade. Put to use, they could create more competition and supply millions more high-speed connections. To finally unleash those airwaves, the government is being asked to place more trust than ever in Dish and its owner, billionaire Charlie Ergen. Dish is on track to get even more airwaves and other assets in 2019, this time as part of a side deal to T-Mobile’s purchase of Sprint.
Apparently, T-Mobile and Dish have reached a divestiture deal, pending DOJ concerns
Apparently, Dish Network and T-Mobile have agreed to a divestiture deal that brings the wireless carrier a step closer to gaining government approval of its merger with Sprint. However, there are still issues the Department of Justice is actively focused on before it would allow a deal.
Google’s Jigsaw Was Supposed to Save the Internet. Behind the Scenes, It Became a Toxic Mess
Google's "Jigsaw" is a moonshot division formed in 2010, now thought of as an "elite think tank." Founded as Google Ideas, its goals included using technology to fight radicals from San Salvador to the Middle East; investigating human trafficking, terrorism, and cybercrime; and developing software to conduct the first public opinion poll in Somalia. While trying to save the internet from censorship, extremists, and hackers may sound like one of the best jobs in tech, more than a dozen current and former employees of Jigsaw said that the reality inside is bleak. Current and former Jigsaw emp
President Trump invites conservative tech critics to White House for 'social media summit'
Big Tech's political woes may only worsen after July 11, when the White House hosts a “social media summit” that could set the stage for even more scrutiny to come.
There are growing calls from the administration, Congress, and some presidential candidates to either break up big tech companies or subject them to more careful scrutiny out of concern they may be violating competition laws. Some of this is egged on by advocates who would like to jettison the long-standing consumer welfare standard for antitrust policy, which holds that regulators should stay out of the way unless there is clear evidence a player’s actions are raising prices or curbing innovation.
How can we save New Jersey’s local news from the wrecking ball?
A demolition team rolled in to 9 Broadcast Plaza in early June, tearing down Northern New Jersey’s only broadcast television studio.
FCC Investigating Sinclair Over Tribune Deal
In a letter of inquiry sent by the Federal Communications Commission's Media Bureau to Sinclair Broadcast Group General Counsel David Gibber, the FCC asks for documents releated to Sinclair's aborted effort to buy Tribune TV stations and whether Sinclair mislead the FCC about who would actually be controlling the stations it was spinning off as part of the deal. The FCC is investigating "whether, in light of the issues presented in the HDO, Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.
Chairman Pai Response to Sens Udall, Klobuchar, Blumenthal, Warren, Markey, and Booker Re: Proposed Merger of T-Mobile-Sprint
On May 23, Sens Tom Udall (D-NM), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ed Markey (D-MA), and Cory Booker (D-NJ) wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai expressing concern that the proposed merger of T-Mobile and Sprint does not serve the public interest and urging both the FCC and Department of Justice to reject the transaction.
Right to Connect: A Media-Policy Roadmap for Presidential Candidates
A platform of recommended media-and-tech policies for all presidential candidates. Over the summer of 2019, Free Press Action will send the platform to each of the presidential candidates. Free Press Action will also generate a scorecard rating each candidate’s positions relative to Right to Connect’s recommendations. What is the platform asking candidates to do?
Senators Warren, Sanders, Booker Urge FCC and DOJ to Review Sinclair Acquisition of 21 Regional Sports Networks
Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Cory Booker (D-NJ) sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai and the head of the Department of Justice Antitrust Division, Makan Delrahim, urging close scrutiny of Sinclair Broadcast Group's recent acquisition of 21 Regional Sports Networks and Fox College Sports (RSNs) from the Walt Disney Company in a deal valued at $10.6 billion.