Another liberal diversity lie: FCC Democrats won’t give these minorities a fair hearing

Liberal leaders never miss an opportunity to declare their commitment to diversity.

From college admissions to collective bargaining and beyond, the motto of most Democrats is that more diversity is better.

But it only goes so far.

When the chance arose for the Democratic-led FCC to approve a merger of what would become the largest minority-owned local television group, it failed tragically.

Over a year ago, Korean-American entrepreneur Soohyung (Soo) Kim filed with the FCC to acquire Tegna Broadcasting in a deal worth $8.6 billion. Tegna is America’s third largest broadcasting group, with over 64 television stations in 51 markets across the United States. Under Su, Tegna will become the nation’s largest minority-owned group of broadcasters.

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Little did he know that despite such a business heritage, not everyone was rooting for him. It grossly underestimated the deep-seated reservoir of prejudice, hostility and discrimination.

So far, Sue’s business career has been something of an American Dream novel. Born in Korea. She moved to the United States at the age of 6. She watches “Sesame Street” and she learns English. She’s studying hard to get into Princeton. She worked on Wall Street to become a successful investor, eventually starting his own hedge fund under the unassuming name of Standard General.

Representatives of the self-proclaimed “public interest group” labor unions and several members of Congress, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, coalesced to oppose the petition. (Stephanie Reynolds Poole/Getty Images)

Today, Soo Kim can make great investments in retail, real estate, games and media. Still, raising a large amount of debt and equity to take his publicly traded Tegna private isn’t easy for any entrepreneur, minority or not.

With a firm plan to improve local news and confidence in the fairness of the regulatory process, Kim believed the merger would be approved by the FCC within the usual 180 days of FCC action.

But not so fast.

Soo Kim is no stranger to the opposition and has had his fair share of contested deals, but the Tegna merger was the first time an entrepreneur encountered a stone wall of federal silence. From the moment Standard General’s plans were announced, a group of self-proclaimed “public interest groups” and several trade union representatives coalesced against the application.

Together with former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Frank Palone (DN.J.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), they persuaded the FCC to see things their way.according to wall street journalPelosi acted after receiving significant campaign funds from Democratic donors who were interested in derailing the standard general deal.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks to the media at the US Capitol on Oct. 25, 2022. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Things have not been normal since then.

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The Democratic Party-led FCC has managed to delay decisions on Mr. Kim’s merger application for most of the past year. It extended the review period, repeatedly requested the same set of documents, and even refused to meet with the principals involved in the transaction to discuss terms and concerns.

After a year of regulatory strife, FCC officials, acting under authority delegated by the FCC chairman, referred the merger to an internal administrative law judge for further review. What makes this last merger fraud so controversial is that the FCC knew that its funding pledge for Kim’s deal had been extended several times before coming to a screeching halt on May 22. is. For the most part, any deal means the kiss of death.

The Commission’s disregard for patents and ignorance of the commercial and financial realities of regulated industries is appalling.

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, an influential member of the Senate Commerce Committee, and Rep. Kathy McMorris Rogers (R, Washington), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, learned of these hoaxes. When they did, they raised a red flag. . in a joint letter Cruz and Rodgers wrote to FCC Chairman Jessica Rosenworcel:

“The Media Bureau’s decision to send this transaction to an ALJ hearing violates Commission rules and precedent in several respects.

“First, to ensure that the Commission is accountable to Congress and the public, a full Commission vote is required on certain issues, especially those that are new and/or have serious legal or policy consequences. is required. Designating a multi-billion dollar deal like the Standard General-TEGNA deal to his ALJ hearings is exactly the momentous decision the Commissioner must take responsibility for. The last time the FCC referred a large deal to his ALJ, the decision was made at the commission level and the FCC should not have deviated from that precedent.

Rep. Kathy McMorris Rogers speaks at a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee on March 23, 2023 at the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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“Second, the Media Department’s HDO relied on the Commission’s novel interpretation of the public interest standard, contradicting the Commission’s precedent that ‘an increase in retransmission consent rates per se’ does not constitute harm to the public interest.” Even if they didn’t, they seemed to ignore them.

“Third, based on Commission precedent, the Media Department was required to provide full Commission Notice 48 hours prior to issuing the HDO on February 24, 2023, which it did not.“

Cruz and Rogers aren’t the only ones to point out that the FCC has deviated from precedent and procedure. There is an impressive list of local legislators, civil rights leaders, academic researchers, industry groups, and many others who support the merger, including the American Enterprise Institute and the American Consumer Institute.

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There was a farce perpetrated by Democratic leaders in this standard General-Tegna deal. They have consistently given lip service to the diversity of media owners, but their actions speak louder than words. Liberals have shown a surprising amount of arrogance and hypocrisy in wholly private deals that do not burden taxpayers, use public funds, or harm competition.

When it comes to media ownership and meaningful participation in the American economy, the FCC Democrats seem to have built a rampart with the sign “Minorities don’t have to apply.”

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