Free Press and Sinclair Broadcasting exchanged dueling press...
Free Press and Sinclair Broadcasting exchanged dueling press releases Thursday over a Free Press report (http://bit.ly/15PdbHU) released earlier in the week accusing Sinclair and other companies of using shared service agreements (SSAs) and joint service agreements (JSAs) to get around…
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FCC ownership rules (http://bit.ly/1d3D1Kn, http://bit.ly/1c4NSCt). Sinclair called Free Press’s report “inaccurate, irresponsible and potentially defamatory” and criticized the group for ignoring Sinclair’s overtures to discuss their differences before the report was released. Sinclair did not comment on whether it was considering legal action against Free Press. “Contrary to the apparently intentionally uninformed views expressed by Free Press, there is no question on the positive contributions and the substantial investments we have made in the local markets we operate, especially in the newsrooms,” said Sinclair’s release. Free Press said Sinclair’s defense of sharing arrangements is “bogus” and attacked the broadcaster’s contention that the FCC has a history of authorizing SSAs and JSAs as “highlighting the farce” identified in the report. “Contrary to its claims, Sinclair is not helping independent, struggling stations stay on the air,” said Free Press. “Instead, it’s using its shell companies to buy these stations and drive independent owners out of business.” The broadcaster and public interest group have been exchanging similar arguments over the issue of sharing arrangements in filings connected with Sinclair’s purchase of Allbritton’s TV stations (http://bit.ly/HlK6dG), and Free Press has also attacked the use of sharing agreements in pending transactions involving Tribune and Local TV. “The bottom line is that fake owners shouldn’t be given real broadcast licenses,” said Free Press. The public interest group “is ignoring the changes in the dissemination of information that have occurred in the last almost 70 years,” Sinclair said. That should be a “red flag that the organization is not working in the public’s best interest and is simply disconnected to the real world and its multiple voices found in newspapers, cable networks, radio, outdoor, television and the Internet,” said Sinclair.