With CNN‘s parent company now up for sale, and the Trump administration antitrust enforcers now able to monitor and possibly regulate any deal that is made, conservatives have a better chance than ever before to level the media playing field.
The Trump administration gaining the upper hand against the news media isn’t a surprise to anyone who has been paying attention.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr began tackling the current media imbalance early in his chairmanship, warning ABC and NBC that the FCC was watching for unfair strong-arm tactics against the local affiliates they serve.
CNN’S SALE IS A CRUCIAL TEST FOR TRUMP’S ANTITRUST AGENDA
He has also begun aggressively looking at reforming the FCC national media ownership cap, an outdated broadcaster rule that strengthens national liberal media at the expense of conservative local news.
The cap, which Carr has called “arcane” and “artificial,” prevents affiliate groups from reaching more than 39% of Americans.
This rule made sense decades ago when three networks had a monopoly on information. However, today’s media market includes multiple broadcast networks competing with cable companies, satellite, streaming, and Big Tech giants.
All these companies are competing to deliver video news and entertainment to national audiences, with Big Tech and streaming often replacing the very local broadcast stations the FCC cap was designed to regulate. Yet, only broadcasters face the FCC’s arbitrary audience cap. No one else does — not cable networks, not streaming companies, and surely not Google and Facebook.
This is concerning because many broadcasters are actively trying to expand and go head-to-head against the woke media conglomerates. Sinclair has offered to purchase broadcasting company E.W. Scripps, while Nexstar is trying to acquire Tegna.
The biggest threat to these conservative-friendly deals and the ones that will come after them is this outdated broadcast ownership cap, which will limit how much these companies can expand over time.
Carr is right — this cap is archaic and must end.
Unfortunately, the FCC’s investigation into lifting the cap is currently facing opposition from an odd bedfellow’s coalition of special interests. This coalition includes conservative cable networks that benefit from this market distortion, such as Newsmax and One America News Network.
Rather than welcome conservative media’s overall flourishing, these networks, which vocally oppose lifting the cap, appear to prefer that the government continue tearing down their competition. And they’re not afraid to make common cause with The Left to do it.
This isn’t the first time, either.
For example, Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy supported Biden’s failed FCC nominee Gigi Sohn, a left-wing radical who vehemently opposes conservative broadcaster growth. Ruddy even reportedly called Republican senators, urging them to vote for her confirmation.
Having more conservative broadcasters reach more Americans on a daily basis would be a good thing, not a bad one.
If the Right truly wants to break the left-wing media cartel, it cannot rely solely on cable channels. It will also need to count on strong, well-capitalized national broadcasters and the reach they bring.
Broadcast remains one of the most trusted forms of news in America, and it is the one part of the media ecosystem where conservatives have a genuine shot at winning new viewers who would never turn on CNN, MSNBC, or even Fox News.
Ending the cap would allow conservative companies to build national alternatives with the resources they need to hire more reporters, conduct more in-depth investigations, expand their local bureaus, and challenge the establishment networks. It would give conservative audiences genuine choice on the broadcast dial — something they have not had in generations, if they’ve ever had it at all.
IT’S TIME FOR THE FCC TO GET RID OF THE LOCAL TV OWNERSHIP CAP
There is no reason conservative media should remain permanently fragmented and structurally disadvantaged. Ending the cap is the single most important deregulatory step the FCC can take to empower conservative journalism for the next 50 years.
Here’s hoping it does so, and soon.
Steve Cortes is president of the League of American Workers and senior political adviser to Catholic Vote. He is a former senior adviser to President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance and a former Fox News commentator.
