Sinclair Broadcast encountered a stone wall in its bid to obtain Tribune Media Company as Federal Communication Commission Chair Ajit Pai said he would reject the acquisition given its current structure. Pai suggested an administrative law judge should review the deal which would certainly bog it down and most likely deal it a mortal blow. Critics had accused Pai altering broadcast TV station ownership limits to help Sinclair. (Ars Technica, July 16, 2018, by Jon Brodkin)
Criticized recently for ordering its stations to run pro-Trump segments, Sinclair was poised to become a maga force in conservative news. Its failure to complete the merger with Tribune stemmed partly from its arrogance in finessing divestitures under federal media ownership limits. Its plan would enable it, as Pai said in his announcement this week, “to control those stations in practice, even if not in name, in violation of the law.” (Politico, July 16, 2018, by Margaret Harding McGill)