FCC Democrats, FTC's McSweeney Endorse Ruddy Commentary Attacking Pai Media Policies

FCC Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Mignon Clyburn tweeted in support Tuesday of a commentary arguing that media ownership policies would make it harder to combat fake news. “The FCC’s recent actions can only lead to a massive consolidation of stations and homogenization of news,” wrote Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy in The Washington Post. “The cure for ‘fake news’ isn’t consolidation, it is more diverse and competitive news.” Rosenworcel called the column “Truth” in a tweet linking to it, and Clyburn tweeted, “I agree,” while sharing the same link. FTC Commissioner Terrell McSweeny tweeted her own agreement in a response to Rosenworcel. “The American people deserve a voice in the way Washington is dismantling local media,” Rosenworcel said in another tweet about the article. Ruddy cited FCC actions on the main studio rule, UHF discount and media ownership, and the expected approval of Sinclair buying Tribune as combining to consolidate media market power. Ruddy has been an opponent of Sinclair/Tribune. “Democrats have already raised suspicions about the commission’s decision to implement the UHF discount just three weeks before the Sinclair-Tribune merger was announced. Could those companies have known somehow that such a change was going to occur to make their merger legal?” Ruddy asked. Pai’s longtime criticism of the elimination of the UHF discount was widely seen as far back as January to indicate he would restore it (see 1701110067). “While President [Donald] Trump has been condemning 'fake news,' his very own FCC is pursuing policies that will lead to the greatest concentration of television media power in history,” Ruddy said. The FCC didn't comment.