Recent developments and longstanding issues have raised questions about Sinclair's commitment to journalistic integrity, diversity, and compliance with FCC regulations.  Sinclair claimed it would provide important news and information services as part of its acquisition of additional television markets.  Instead, Sinclair today is disinvesting in its markets. 

Sinclair committed fraud to its shareholders, employees, and the communities it serves when it was allowed to add additional television stations under this guise, knowing it would instead close newsrooms, lay off journalists, and abandon its commitment to providing important and potentially lifesaving news and weather information to these communities.

The FCC should investigate and, if necessary, revoke the TV licenses held by Sinclair Broadcast Group.

In addition to recent newsroom closures, the lack of diversity in leadership roles, editorial bias, legal issues, and violations of FCC regulations raise serious questions about the fitness of Sinclair Broadcast Group to hold broadcasting licenses.  Among those issues:

1.       Newsroom Closures:  Sinclair Broadcast Group's decision to close newsrooms raises concerns about its commitment to local journalism and the public's right to access sources of information. Access to diverse and independent news sources is crucial for a well-informed citizenry.  These closures are having a detrimental impact on the quality of news coverage and limit the availability of diverse viewpoints in affected communities it serves.

Among the television markets where Sinclair has eliminated or reduced its local news operation:

• KAEF:  Eureka, California
• KMEG-KPTH:  Sioux City, Iowa
• KPTM:  Omaha, Nebraska
• KTUL:  Tulsa, Oklahoma
• KTVL:  Medford, Oregon
• WACH:  Columbia, South Carolina
• WEYI-WSMH:  Flint, Michigan
• WGFL:  Gainesville, Florida
• WGXA:  Macon, Georgia
• WNWO:  Toledo, Ohio

In markets impacted by newsroom closures and layoffs, communities are left with a growing “news desert” – reduced local news coverage at a time when many local newspapers are also shutting down.

2.       Editorial Bias:  Sinclair forces its stations to air so-called "Must Run stories".  Studies by independent news organizations and higher education institutions have shown these stories frequently contain topics with a conservative editorial bias.

Such editorial interference by corporate-level officers, including Senior Vice President of News Scott Livingston, undermines the principle of impartial and unbiased journalism that is essential for a robust and impartial local news landscape that serves our diverse communities.  These "opinion pieces in the form of news stories" compromise the objectivity and impartiality that viewers expect from their local news outlets. This undermines the public's trust in the media as an unbiased source of information.

Sinclair faced significant industry ridicule for making its news anchors at stations across the country tape identical promotional advertisements and pushing a partisan agenda.  Anchors who refused to tape these advertisements faced discipline.

3.       FCC Violations:  Sinclair Broadcast Group has a history of FCC violations, including fines for violations of children's programming and non-disclosure of paid programming. These incidents show a deliberate pattern of non-compliance with regulatory requirements set forth by the Commission. This history of non-compliance raises concerns about Sinclair's commitment to adhering to FCC guidelines now and in the future.

4.       Market Cap Limitations and Sidecar Companies:  Sinclair's attempts to circumvent market cap limitations through the use of sidecar companies like Howard Stirk Holdings and Cunningham Broadcasting have implications for fair market competition. Such actions may undermine the FCC's regulations, the intent behind them, and is a matter that warrants scrutiny to ensure regulatory compliance for media ownership concentration.

5.       Lack of Diversity:  Sinclair's lack of diversity on its Board of Directors, Executive Staff, and among its local TV station General Managers is troubling.

Diversity in corporate leadership is crucial for ensuring fair and balanced reporting that represents the broad range of demographics of the diverse communities that Sinclair serves.  The absence of racial and gender perspectives at these levels raises concerns about the inclusivity and fairness of Sinclair's news coverage.  

This lack of diversity also includes a lack of journalism background in the highest levels of corporate management which tends to focus on the profitability of stations’ bottom lines over its public service responsibilities, which serve as its sole purpose for using the public airwaves.  Currently, there is an unwritten requirement that all local TV General Managers come from a sales background.

6.       Political Advocacy and Use of Newsrooms:  The Smith family's involvement in local, state, and national political advocacy is well known.  They have used newsrooms to push their agenda, raising concerns about the independence of Sinclair's news reporting.  That independence is a cornerstone of a free press, and any attempts to compromise this independence should be thoroughly investigated.

7.       Union Busting:  Sinclair has been hostile to union organizing efforts among its workforce.  The company mandates training to identify and deter unionization efforts by its local television station managers, human resources managers, and department heads, including News Directors.

8.       Anti-Competitive Employment Practices:  Sinclair has imposed restrictive non-compete clauses, nondisclosure agreements, and imposed thousands of dollars in liquidated damages against employees who have pursued other career opportunities and as a way to limit criticism of its business practices.

9.       Excessive Executive Compensation:  At a time when Sinclair falsely claims it can no longer afford to provide local news services to several of its small- to medium-sized markets, its executive pay and company profits continue to rise.  Sinclair is choosing to lay off journalists making – in some cases – less than $30,000 while paying off student loans.  In its most recent SEC filing, Sinclair President and CEO Christopher Ripley and Executive Chairman David Smith each made more than $9.6-million in 2022.  

Sinclair falsely claims its financial bottom line has been negatively impacted by a drop off in its ad-supported business model following the COVID-19 pandemic.  In 2022, Sinclair’s revenues rose to an all-time high of $6.1-billion.  The fact is Sinclair is laying off hundreds of journalists and shutting down newsrooms because of its ill-advised purchase of the Bally Sports regional sports networks and its out-of-control executive compensation.

10.   Cancellation of Spanish Language Channels:  Sinclair is preparing to drop the Spanish-language channel Univision in the Seattle, Washington television market.  The move by Sinclair-run KUNS has been criticized by the Hispanic community, which makes up approximately 11 percent of the population in King County. It would also end the region’s only Spanish-speaking newscast and access to important community news and entertainment.

11.   Bankruptcy of Bally Sports:  Sinclair’s purchase of the now-branded Bally Sports regional sports networks and subsequent bankruptcy has negatively impacted investment in its local news stations.  The company forced the downsizing of an estimated five percent of its staff nationwide, budget cuts, elimination of entire units, and a one percent salary cap for its employees to fund the ill-fated $10-billion acquisition of Bally Sports.

12.   Retransmission Disputes:  Sinclair continues to employ the threats of pulling programming off cable, satellite, and streaming services when it cannot reach an agreement with distributors for retransmission consent compensation.  While companies deserve proper compensation for the high-interest programming and local news it provides these platforms, Sinclair should not use the loss of programming and disenfranchising viewers as pawns in these negotiations.

13.   Moral Turpitude:  The arrest of Sinclair's Board Chairman, David Smith, for soliciting a prostitute raises questions about the moral fitness of the company's leadership. His behavior is inconsistent with the standards expected of those holding positions of influence in the media industry or a publicly-granted broadcast license.

While recent statements by Chairwoman Rosenworcel about prioritizing license renewal applications for stations that produce local journalism, the proposal needs to go further to reduce this troubling trend of disinvestment of local news that we are seeing from Sinclair and other broadcasters.  Companies and their executives who benefit from the public airwaves have a responsibility to act in good public faith to provide important and potentially life-saving news and weather information.  If they abandon that responsibility, they should not continue to benefit from the FCC-granted licenses.

Considering the gravity of the issues listed above, we request that the FCC immediately conduct a comprehensive investigation into Sinclair Broadcast Group's operations.  We ask that the FCC hold an emergency meeting to discuss these issues as Sinclair plans to close even more newsrooms before the end of this calendar year.  

If the findings reveal significant violations of FCC regulations or ethical standards, we urge the Commission to revoke its television licenses.  This is a power granted to the FCC and should be used only in extremely rare cases like this, where Sinclair has committed fraud and is violating its most basic responsibilities to provide local news to its communities.

It is crucial for the FCC to uphold the principles of fair and unbiased journalism and to ensure that media organizations utilizing the public airwaves adhere to the highest standards of integrity, diversity, and journalistic ethics.

If companies like Sinclair are allowed to continue to shut down newsrooms in underserved communities, they will be emboldened to shutter even more newsrooms, violating its FCC mandate to provide local news and weather information to its FCC-designated market area. 

We also believe FCC commissioners should look at the impact tech companies like Google and Meta are having on the long-term financial sustainability of free ad-supported local news operations and consider regulations that support local broadcasters who are providing these community services that are vital to our democracy.