Donald Trump wasn't even inaugurated yet and Sinclair was already working on molding his administration to their liking. 

You may remember that Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner talked about how the campaign cut a deal with Sinclair to get favorable coverage for the Trump ticket. 

After Trump was elected, but before his inauguration, the NY Times says that Sinclair boss David Smith (pictured) invited Ajit V. Pai, a commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission to visit the Sinclair headquarters.  

Smith wanted Mr. Pai to ease up on efforts under President Barack Obama to crack down on media consolidation, which were threatening Sinclair’s ambitions to grow even bigger.

You have to wonder if this wasn't more like a job interview, because shortly after Pai's visit to Sinclair, he was named chairman of the F.C.C.

And during his first 10 days on the job, he relaxed a restriction on television stations’ sharing of advertising revenue and other resources — the exact topic that Pai discussed with Smith and one of his business partners. 

It was only the beginning.

Since becoming chairman in January, Pai has undertaken a deregulatory blitz, enacting or proposing a wish list of fundamental policy changes advocated by Smith and his company.

Hundreds of pages of emails and other documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveal a rush of regulatory actions has been carefully aligned with Sinclair’s business objectives.

Both Smith and Pai refused to comment of their cozy relationship to the Times, but it appears that Sinclair as the FCC eating out of their hand. 

You can read the full story at the NY Times.