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Petition to FCC opposes Baltimore TV station license renewals, citing ownership ties to Sinclair ...
Hat tip, a post in the DCRTV.com Mailbag
/ September 3 Messages /
{snip}
Baltimore's Sinclair owned TV licenses are under a challenge for their renewal. Someone in Columbia has challenged the TV licenses of WBFF 45, WUTB 24, and WNUV 54 stating that they are in violation of FCC rules as Sinclair controls the 3 different licensee companies, Cunningham Broadcasting and Deerfield Media along with Sinclair itself and therefor have a lack of diversity. Cunningham Broadcasting, originally considered the first Black broadcast owner was eventually transferred to the Smith family's mother and wife of WBFF founder Julian Smith and now both are mostly owned by trusts that the Smith family controls. https://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-sinclair-broadcast-fcc-petition-opposing-tv-licenses-20200903-4dgzj3tnurg63dvm56zaeturfi-story.html —BaltoMedia.net
WJLA in DC is also Sinclair-owned. I don't know of any challenge to its license.
BUSINESS
Petition to FCC opposes Baltimore TV station license renewals, citing ownership ties to Sinclair Broadcast
By LORRAINE MIRABELLA
BALTIMORE SUN | SEP 03, 2020 AT 5:45 PM
A Columbia man has filed a petition with federal regulators alleging Sinclair Broadcast Group has violated TV station ownership rules and asking the government to deny licenses for three Baltimore TV stations.
The request before the Federal Communications Commission comes from a viewer from Columbia who complains of what he calls Sinclair’s “checkered history” with the agency and blames Sinclair for a lack of diversity of viewpoints in the Baltimore TV market.
Ihor Gawdiak, who filed a petition that became public Wednesday, argues he has standing as a regular viewer of the three TV stations seeking license renewal.
Those include WBFF Fox45, licensed by Chesapeake Television Licensee, a Sinclair entity; WNUV CW, licensed by Cunningham Broadcasting Corp.; and WUTB MyTV, licensed by Deerfield Media.
{snip}
Lorraine Mirabella
Lorraine Mirabella is a business reporter for The Baltimore Sun. She writes about retail, consumer affairs, workplace issues and other financial news. She joined the business staff in 1992 and has covered real estate, energy, manufacturing, business trends and companies such as Under Armour and McCormick & Co. She is a Towson University graduate.
Petition to FCC opposes Baltimore TV station license renewals, citing ownership ties to Sinclair Broadcast
By LORRAINE MIRABELLA
BALTIMORE SUN | SEP 03, 2020 AT 5:45 PM
A Columbia man has filed a petition with federal regulators alleging Sinclair Broadcast Group has violated TV station ownership rules and asking the government to deny licenses for three Baltimore TV stations.
The request before the Federal Communications Commission comes from a viewer from Columbia who complains of what he calls Sinclair’s “checkered history” with the agency and blames Sinclair for a lack of diversity of viewpoints in the Baltimore TV market.
Ihor Gawdiak, who filed a petition that became public Wednesday, argues he has standing as a regular viewer of the three TV stations seeking license renewal.
Those include WBFF Fox45, licensed by Chesapeake Television Licensee, a Sinclair entity; WNUV CW, licensed by Cunningham Broadcasting Corp.; and WUTB MyTV, licensed by Deerfield Media.
{snip}
Lorraine Mirabella
Lorraine Mirabella is a business reporter for The Baltimore Sun. She writes about retail, consumer affairs, workplace issues and other financial news. She joined the business staff in 1992 and has covered real estate, energy, manufacturing, business trends and companies such as Under Armour and McCormick & Co. She is a Towson University graduate.