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 NEWS  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  Street,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  This  is  an  unofficial  announcement  of  Commission  action.  Release  of  the  full  text  of  a  Commission  order  constitutes  official  action.  See  MCI  v.  FCC.  515  F  2d  385  (D.  C.  Circ  1974).  News  Media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  TTY:  1-  888-  835-  5322  FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE  NEWS  MEDIA  CONTACT: 
 October  11,  2004  Jordan  Goldstein:  (202)  418-  2000 
 FCC  COMMISSIONER  COPPS  CRITICIZES  SINCLAIR  CORPORATE  DECISION  TO  PREEMPT  LOCAL  STATIONS  FOR  POLITICAL  BROADCAST 


 Commissioner  Michael  J.  Copps  reacted  to  reports  that  Sinclair  Broadcast  Group  will  preempt  more  than  60  local  stations  across  the  country  to  air  an  overtly  political  program  in  the  days  prior  to  the 
 Presidential  election. 
 Copps  stated:  “This  is  an  abuse  of  the  public  trust.  And  it  is  proof  positive  of  media  consolidation  run  amok  when  one  owner  can  use  the  public  airwaves  to  blanket  the  country  with  its 
 political  ideology  --  whether  liberal  or  conservative.  Some  will  undoubtedly  question  if  this  is  appropriate  stewardship  of  the  public  airwaves.  This  is  the  same  corporation  that  refused  to  air 
 Nightline’s  reading  of  our  war  dead  in  Iraq.  It  is  the  same  corporation  that  short-  shrifts  local  communities  and  local  jobs  by  distance-  casting  news  and  weather  from  hundreds  of  miles  away.  It  is  a 
 sad  fact  that  the  explicit  public  interest  protections  we  once  had  to  ensure  balance  continue  to  be  weakened  by  the  Federal  Communications  Commission  while  it  allows  media  conglomerates  to  get 
 even  bigger.  Sinclair,  and  the  FCC,  are  taking  us  down  a  dangerous  road.” 
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