Speaking Out Against Sinclair
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Chicago Tribune Columnist Robert Reed says he does not believe that the Sinclair/ Tribune deal passes the smell test.
Reed says, "anytime a company starts yapping about "synergies" it's often the customers, employees and suppliers that take it on the chin.
He goes on to say, "The bulked-up company will also be under great pressure to boost earnings, so it is conceivable Sinclair management will chop costs with a vengeance by consolidating, or outright dumping, homegrown news, weather, sports or other programming.
That's not a winning formula for local, diverse and independent television content — an approach that is the best way to serve hometown communities.
Keep in mind that we've witnessed similar belt-tightening in other consolidating industries and it has produced, at best, mixed results.
Over the years, airlines, banking, medical technology and other businesses merged and then purged employees — often hindering customer service in the process.
Then there's politics.
What's undoubtedly making this media deal more problematic is Sinclair's hard-right tilt, which manifests itself in conservative commentaries and stories that management insists its stations carry on a recurring basis.
Yet, it's not Sinclair's philosophical bent that's the real issue. I'd be as worried if some hardcore liberal-thinking brain trust was determined to impose its point-of-view commentaries and reports on 72 percent of the country."
The list of people against this deal is long and it crosses both sides of the political aisle. But, the problem is that Sinclair has both Donald Trump and the FCC in their pocket and despite all the people that oppose the deal, it is more than likely going to go through.
