FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is under investigation for seeking to benefit Sinclair and Tribune deal

[coasterghost]

Quote

Last April, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Ajit Pai, led the charge for his agency to approve rules allowing television broadcasters to greatly increase the number of stations they own. A few weeks later, Sinclair Broadcasting announced a blockbuster $3.9 billion deal to buy Tribune Media — a deal those new rules made possible.

By the end of the year, in a previously undisclosed move, the top internal watchdog for the F.C.C. opened an investigation into whether Mr. Pai and his aides had improperly pushed for the rule changes and whether they had timed them to benefit Sinclair, according to Representative Frank Pallone of New Jersey and two congressional aides.

...

A New York Times investigation published in August found that Mr. Pai and his staff members had met and corresponded with Sinclair executives several times. One meeting, with Sinclair’s executive chairman, took place days before Mr. Pai, who was appointed by President Trump, took over as F.C.C. chairman.

Sinclair’s top lobbyist, a former F.C.C. official, also communicated frequently with former agency colleagues and pushed for the relaxation of media ownership rules. And language the lobbyist used about loosening rules has tracked closely to analysis and language used by Mr. Pai in speeches favoring such changes.

Given how outspoken and Blatant that Ajit Pai has been on many topics especially net neutrality it's not shocking at all. Even when accounted for his past as a lawyer for Verizon is just more so telling. It's also rather interesting to myself that however the steps that he's taken to get this merger approved. Not only has Sinclair been told to sell 12 tv stations, but he [Ajit Pai] has gone and rolled back several regulations including certain broadcast television station ownership limitations, reinstating a 1985 discount quota on UHF stations, and by not requiring stations to have a main studio in local coverage area. It will be interesting to find out what the watchdog group finds out. 

 

 

Source 1: New York Times (Possible Soft Paywalk) https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/15/technology/fcc-sinclair-ajit-pai.html

Source 1 (Backup; CNBC Posting of the article via the NYT): https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/15/new-york-times-digital-f-c-c-watchdog-looks-into-changes-that-benefited-sinclair.html?__source=twitter|main

 

Sources for Background info: 

Source 1: https://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/news/2017/12/15/sinclair-tribune-sale-justice-department.html

Source 2: https://variety.com/2017/biz/news/fcc-main-studio-rule-ajit-pai-sinclair-1202597651/

Source 3: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-fcc-local-tv-radio-control-20171024-story.html

Source 4: https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/2017/10/24/broadcasters-no-longer-need-a-local-studio-as-fcc-changes-rule

Source 5: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2017/10/24/the-fcc-just-ended-a-decades-old-rule-designed-to-keep-tv-and-radio-under-local-control/

Source 6: https://variety.com/2017/biz/news/fcc-sinclair-tribune-merger-investigation-1202615791/

 

Note to Mods: I am trying to keep this apolitical and seek to keep it as such.

[deXxterlab97]

I have never seen a Tech News post with so much sources. 

[Sir Asvald]

4 minutes ago, deXxterlab97 said:

I have never seen a Tech News post with so much sources. 

It's like he's writing his dissertation. 

 

Also, Welcome back.  

[Herman Mcpootis]

3 minutes ago, deXxterlab97 said:

I have never seen a Tech News post with so much sources. 

wait till you see the review compilations then

[deXxterlab97]

5 minutes ago, Abdul201588 said:

It's like he's writing his dissertation. 

 

Also, Welcome back.  

_Thanks

[MrMcMuffinJr]

12 minutes ago, deXxterlab97 said:

I have never seen a Tech News post with so much sources. 

never seen someone care so much about the amount of source

[deXxterlab97]

1 minute ago, MrMcMuffinJr said:

never seen someone care so much about the amount of source

ever heard of wccftech

[Eduard the weeb]

So he is a money whore, whats new ?

[Guest Generallee]

The Pajeet strikes again

 

Now show bobs and vagene

[Tech_Dreamer]

1 hour ago, deXxterlab97 said:

I have never seen a Tech News post with so much sources. 

*holds back angry tears* 

[Deus Voltage]

2 hours ago, MrMcMuffinJr said:

never seen someone care so much about the amount of source

Sources are a sign of intellectual integrity and maturity .

Sharing sources shows that you want people to make their own conclusions. Always a plus in my book. 

[GDRRiley]

3 hours ago, Abdul201588 said:

Also, Welcome back.  

note he isn't the real one.

 

wow not surprised. 

[Sir Asvald]

3 minutes ago, GDRRiley said:

note he isn't the real one.

 

wow not surprised. 

Huh?  

[Shakaza]

3 hours ago, Eduard the weeb said:

So he is a money whore, whats new ?

You have to call out every bad action so as many people as possible know this fact and why he is. Otherwise it's just empty insults and the more reasonable people won't believe you because you'd be attacking his character with no source instead of his actions and explaining why they are bad.

 

News posts like these add to the pot of evidence of just how scummy this guy is, and yes, it's necessary for change.

[TH3M4DR4TT3R]

One rotten apple....

[Mira Yurizaki]

1 hour ago, Deus Voltage said:

Sources are a sign of intellectual integrity and maturity .

Sharing sources shows that you want people to make their own conclusions. Always a plus in my book. 

Disclaimer: I didn't actually scrutinize the post's sources nor is this a critique on the OP's work. This is just speaking from experience.

 

One should be weary of news website sources. A lot of times they all report from the same source if you go down the rabbit hole far enough.

[GDRRiley]

1 hour ago, Abdul201588 said:

Huh?  

it isn't the real dexterlab.

[Sir Asvald]

18 minutes ago, GDRRiley said:

it isn't the real dexterlab.

How do you know he's not the real one? 

[Trixanity]

14 minutes ago, mr moose said:

It should be under independent control.   We in Australia for the most part enjoy a very independent authority that usually holds the government of the day (regardless of party) accountable.  When that ceases to be the case it is both terrible and obvious.    No one who wants the best for their country should want authorities like the FCC under party control.  

 

 

This exactly. Who the hell thought having a duopoly of power would be a great idea? And who thought it'd be a good idea for them to appoint persons to powerful positions? 

It seems like something you'd expect out of an African state with the word "democratic" in the official name. The difference being instead of someone's cousin, it's a corporate lackey or I guess a party puppet.

[Commodus]

8 hours ago, mr moose said:

It should be under independent control.   We in Australia for the most part enjoy a very independent authority that usually holds the government of the day (regardless of party) accountable.  When that ceases to be the case it is both terrible and obvious.    No one who wants the best for their country should want authorities like the FCC under party control.  

 

 

That would ultimately be the best solution.  And preferably with a ban on having worked for a telecom within the past 5 years, or being allowed to work for one for 5 years afterward.  That way you avoid people like Meredith Attwell Baker, who was clearly selling out to Comcast to land a job there when she was done at the FCC.

[Tsuki]

10 hours ago, GDRRiley said:

it isn't the real dexterlab.

will the real dexterlab please stand up?

 

 

also, people really should have seen this coming. an evil fcc leader changing regulation so that the evil corporation can make a shit ton of money. weird..

[jaggysnake57]

merca.....land of the free.

 

[Sauron]

17 hours ago, coasterghost said:

Note to Mods: I am trying to keep this apolitical and seek to keep it as such.

For a second I thought this read: "I am trying to keep this political" 

[Energycore]

On 2/15/2018 at 8:29 AM, deXxterlab97 said:

I have never seen a Tech News post with so much sources. 

This is Linus Tech Tips, not Linus Tech Wiki goddammit.

 

OT, kinda makes sense, with how adamant Ajit had been about revoking NN laws. If those actions were simply because of corruption, then all makes sense.

[Beskamir]

On 15/02/2018 at 7:33 AM, Abdul201588 said:

It's like he's writing his dissertation. 

 

Also, Welcome back.  

Needs proper citation formatting for it to be a dissertation

 

On a serious note, this is awesome but the investigation probably won't "find" (aka mention) anything.