RICHARD J. DURBIN COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY ILLINOIS COMMITTEE ON RULES DEMOCRATIC WHIP ilnitnl ~rates ~rnatr AND ADMINISTRATION 'lUashington, fl<I: 20510- 1301 July 19, 2018 The Honorable Ajit Pai 577 Chairman, Federal Communications Commission 445 l 21h Street SW Washington, DC 20554 Dear Chairman Pai: I appreciate your statement earlier this week expressing "serious concerns" about the proposed merger between Sinclair Broadcast Group (Sinclair) and Tribune Media Company (Tribune) and commend the FCC on its decision to halt its review of the merger and refer the proposed merger to receive the heightened legal scrutiny it deserves. I write to again reiterate my concerns with the proposed merger and urge the FCC's continued scrutiny. As you are aware, I have written many times over the past few months to share my own concerns about the proposed merger and to highlight Sinclair's worrisome business practices and the threat the deal poses to the public interest, localism and diversity, and competition. Sinclair's record is long when it comes to pushing the interests of local and diverse audiences aside in favor of mandating local stations air Sinclair-produced national content. Sinclair has harmed local news stations and undermined the trust of local audiences by requiring local news anchors to deliver corporate-scripted messages, without a disclaimer, and in some cases reportedly while threatening employee consequences. Sinclair has sought to exploit every available loophole to avoid complying with existing media ownership limits, including constructing purchase agreements that fail any reasonable test of a meaningful divestment. Sinclair's recent announcement to submit yet another amended proposal serves as not only acknowledgement that their previous proposals failed to comply with the law, but also as a deliberate attempt to avoid having to defend these sham purchase agreements before a judge. As Sinclair seeks to expand its reach by millions of American homes, careful consideration must be given to Sinclair's troubling conduct. 711 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING 230 SOUTH DEARBORN. 38TH FLOOR 525 SOUTH EIGHTH STREET 1504 THIRD AVENUE PAUL SIMON FEDERAL BUILDING WASHINGTON, DC 20510-1304 CHICAGO, IL 60604 SPRINGFIELD, IL 62703 SUITE 227 250 W. CHERRY STREET (202) 224-2152 (31 2) 353-4952 (217) 492-4062 ROCK ISLAND, IL 61201 SUITE 115- D VRS (202) 540-9782 (309} 786-5173 CARBONDALE, IL 62901 (618) 351-1122 durbin.senate.gov Again, I commend the FCC on approving the order to afford the proposed Sinclair - Tribune merger heightened legal review, and urge the FCC' s continued commitment to evaluating the merger with the upmost scrutiny. Sincerely, CC: Jessica Rosenworcel, Federal Communications Commissioner Michael O'Rielly, Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr, Federal Communications Commissioner