Senate Re-Confirms FCC’s Pai: Sinclair and Special Interests Couldn’t Be Happier
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Senate voted to allow Ajit Pai to continue serving as Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Pai is well known for his cozy relationships with Sinclair Broadcast Group and other companies and special interests that he should be regulating.
“By allowing Ajit Pai to serve another term, the Senate is letting special interests continue to call the shots at the Federal Communications Commission. Pai has used his position at the FCC to bend the rules for his friends in the telecom industry at the expense of the consumers he is there to serve,” said Karl Frisch, executive director of Allied Progress.
He continued, “This shifts the spotlight to the fight against the Sinclair-Tribune merger which is a bad deal for consumers and an assault on independent local media. Chairman Pai has been doing Sinclair’s bidding for some time now. We will continue to hold him accountable and oppose this merger.”
According to an investigation by The New York Times, “since becoming Chairman in January, Mr. Pai has undertaken a deregulatory blitz, enacting or proposing a wish list of fundamental policy changes advocated by Mr. Smith and his company.”
The FCC is currently reviewing Sinclair’s bid to merge with Tribune Media. If the deal goes through, Sinclair’s conservative-leaning content could reach 72 percent of U.S. households, hampering competition and driving up costs for consumers.
To speak with Karl Frisch about Ajit Pai or the Sinclair-Tribune merger, please contact Annette McDermott at Annette@alliedprogress.org or 202-697-4804.
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Allied Progress uses hard-hitting research and creative campaigns to stand up to Wall Street and powerful special interests and hold their allies in Congress and the White House accountable.