The Rise of Sinclair Broadcasting - Alternet

[JPZenger]

Sinclair Broadcasting is making the news because of their censoring of ABC's Nightline from their stations. Here's some background on Sinclair from an article from alternet from last year.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15718

Excerpt:

"The Rise of Sinclair Broadcasting

Like many a media empire, Sinclair grew through a combination of acquisitions, clever manipulations of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules, and considerable lobbying campaigns. Starting out as a single UHF station in Baltimore in 1971, the company started its frenzied expansion in 1991 when it began using "local marketing agreements" as a way to circumvent FCC rules that bar a company from controlling two stations in a single market. These "LMAs" allow Sinclair to buy one station outright and control another by acquiring not its license but its assets. Today, Sinclair touts itself as "the nation's largest commercial television broadcasting company not owned by a network." You've probably never heard of them because the 62 stations they run – garnering 24 percent of the national TV audience –fly the flags of the networks they broadcast: ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, and the WB.

TV Barn's Mark Jeffries calls Sinclair the "Clear Channel of local news," a reference to the San Antonio, Texas, media giant that has grown from 40 to more than 1,200 stations today thanks to the 1996 Telecommunications Act, which relaxed radio ownership rules. But the parallels extend beyond their growth strategies. Jeffries describes Sinclair as having a "fiercely right-wing approach that makes Fox News Channel look like a model of objectivity," while Clear Channel is best known for sponsoring pro-war "Rallies for America" during the Iraq conflict. And like Clear Channel's CEO L. Lowry Mays – a major Republican donor and onetime business associate of George W. Bush – the Sinclair family, board, and executives ply the GOP with big money. Since 1997, they have donated well over $200,000 to Republican candidates."

[JPZenger]

1. Who Owns the Media?

Who Owns the Media?

Disney, Time Warner and Viacom together control 2/3rds of the most popular TV channels on broadcast and cable TV.

Time Warner - AOL, 6 TV stations, HBO, CNN, Warner Brothers, part-owner WB network, 24 book publishers (including Little Brown), 50 record labels, cable TV to 21 million homes.

General Electric - NBC network, owns 13 TV stations, CNBC, several cable channels, Universal Pictures, and Telemundo. GE is a major defense contractor.

Viacom - CBS TV network, 180 radio stations through its Infinity Radio network, MTV, BET, Showtime, Simon and Shuster book publishing, Blockbuster, 1700 movie theater screens.

Disney - ABC network, 10 TV stations, 49 radio stations, ESPN, multiple cable channels, several film studios, 5 record labels.

Paxson Communications - 65 TV stations, PAX network

Sinclair Broadcast Group - Owns and operates, programs, or provides sales to 62 TV stations. Subsidiary Sinclair Ventures invests in broadband technology, high-definition television, software development, automobile dealerships and venture capitol firms.

Clear Channel - 37 TV stations and 1,213 radio stations in the US, plus 250 overseas radio stations. Owns Limbaugh's show. Owns large billboard company. Controls most concert bookings in the U.S.

USA Interactive - Owns 5 TV stations, Ticketmaster and several cable channels.

Entercom - 92 radio stations.

Radio One - 65 radio stations.