Trump criticizes FCC for moving to block Sinclair-Tribune merger - Polidicks

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2018/07/25/trump-criticizes-fcc-moving-block-sinclair-tribune-merger/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.d90701bacfac President Trump came to the defense of Sinclair Broadcast Group’s proposed merger with Tribune Media, days after the Federal Communications Commission raised “serious concerns” about the deal and began legal proceedings to challenge it on grounds the companies had misled regulators. Trump said Tuesday it was “so sad and unfair” that the FCC, an independent agency, did not approve the merger, a $3.9 billion transaction that would create a conservative television giant that originally hoped to reach roughly 70 percent of U.S. households. In his tweet, the president stressed how the deal would provide a “conservative voice for and of the People," though politics are not supposed to factor into merger considerations. “Liberal Fake News NBC and Comcast gets approved, much bigger, but not Sinclair. Disgraceful!” the president tweeted. Trump’s remark could inflame a high-stakes merger proceeding that is already rife with accusations of political cronyism. And it comes amid a broader debate concerning the treatment of conservative speech in places such as college campuses and social media, which right-wing advocates say is biased against Republicans. By becoming the nation’s largest broadcaster, Sinclair stands to become a potent tool in that cultural battle by injecting its conservative programming into millions of additional homes nationwide. Sinclair’s original proposal saw the company reaching 233 stations in 108 markets. Trump compared the proposed tie-up to Comcast’s purchase of NBC Universal in 2011, a much different deal — one that combined a cable giant and a content powerhouse — that the FCC had approved. Trump previously has blasted that merger on the campaign trail. But Pai’s FCC — after more than a year of studying the proposed merger — found some of Sinclair’s proposals to be suspect given that it proposed to divest stations like WGN to individuals who already had a relationship with the broadcaster. Last week, the agency asked an administrative law judge to review “whether Sinclair engaged in misrepresentation and/or lack of candor in its applications” with the FCC. https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1021917767467982854

Left hand, right hand not communicating Also it's still surreal to me that the president manages Independent Agencies by criticising them on twitter, and just hoping that someone else will do something about it.

We all love Ajit Pai right guys

I'm actually surprised the FCC would have any concerns considering Republicans are in control.

It always seemed like to me that the shit pie cares less about the GOP and their ideals and more just who is paying him more at the time. Like he will kill net neutrality because the ISPs will pay him the big bucks. But Sinclair-Tribune hasn't paid him anything so he doesn't care enough to let the merge happen.

It's likely because Ajit Pai is being investigated by his own department over rule changes he made that are believed to be directly tied to the merger. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/07/ajit-pai-deals-major-setback-to-sinclairtribune-merger/ Pai has been repeatedly accused of making regulatory changes that benefit Sinclair; the FCC's inspector general in February agreed to investigate whether Pai has improperly coordinated with Sinclair on rule changes. Pai's FCC previously rolled back broadcast TV station ownership limits, a move that at the time gave Sinclair a better chance of buying more stations.

That fucking mug picture makes me never want to eat Reece’s pieces again. GG shitpie, you’re driving business away.

Is Shit Pie about to be the next baby thrown out with bath water... under a bus?

yeah so they can replace him with someone even worse, good idea

So A Shit Pie is now actually better than a Turd Sandwich?

That'd be a bit difficult to accomplish considering just how shitty Pai is.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1021917767467982854 If you gave the slightest fuck about the voice of the people, you would have denounced the Net Neutrality repeal you shitsucker

Let's be honest, the only reason this happened is because eyes are on Pai over corruption

As of now, Pai has made one good decision in his life. That may be a low bar, but always lowering people's expectations is the running theme of this administration.

The entire purpose of this administration seems to be to track down people who will never do the right thing at any point.