Broadcasters Say Deregulation Will Boost Local News — But “Must-Run” Content Suggests Otherwise

ProximityLocal
Written By Tim Hanlon

As pressure mounts on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to ease restrictions on how many local TV stations a single company can own, broadcasters are making a familiar promise: allow us to grow, and we’ll reinvest in local journalism.

It’s an appealing argument in theory, especially at a time when many communities are struggling to maintain robust local news coverage. But recent developments suggest this narrative deserves closer scrutiny — because what some broadcasters are increasingly investing in isn’t local content, but centralized, top-down messaging disguised as it.

Two Obvious Examples

Take Nexstar, the largest owner of local TV stations in the U.S. As The Desk reported over the last two weeks, Nexstar has implemented a new slate of “must-run” content directives across its vast station portfolio. These segments are not optional — they are required to air on all Nexstar-owned stations, regardless of local newsroom interest or relevance. The focus: direct viewers to visit a Nexstar-owned website to send pre-written social media posts directed at the FCC encouraging the elimination of broadcast station ownership rules. (Nexstar station GMs were also ordered to do similarly).

This follows in the footsteps of Sinclair Broadcast Group, which made headlines in 2018 for mandating that its anchors across the country read from the same script warning viewers about supposed "fake news" and media bias. A viral supercut of these promos, compiled by Deadspin, made plain the eerie uniformity of these so-called local broadcasts. Viewers from Seattle to Savannah were watching anchors repeat the exact same words in the same somber tones — obliterating the very notion of “independent” local journalism.

When station group owners force must-run segments onto local newscasts, they dilute the time and resources available for actual local reporting. More importantly, they compromise the editorial independence of local journalists, whose understanding of their communities is being overridden by corporate mandates. This kind of content centralization may be efficient, but it’s the antithesis of what local journalism is supposed to be.

Ironic? Disingenuous? Both?

And yet, ironically, Nexstar and others are using the promise of stronger local news to lobby the FCC for deregulation. Currently, the national audience reach cap prohibits any single broadcaster from reaching more than 39% of U.S. households through its owned-and-operated stations. Nexstar is lobbying for the FCC to weaken or eliminate this cap, under the justification that scale will allow broadcasters to survive amid digital disruption and better serve the public.

But the reality on the ground doesn’t support that. When ownership expands, the actual decision-making power often migrates away from local journalists and into the hands of a few corporate executives. Stations may retain local anchors and weather forecasters for appearance’s sake, but the editorial soul of the operation is increasingly shaped in a centralized newsroom hundreds or thousands of miles away.

The Inevitable Editorial Drift

Furthermore, must-run content often leans political or ideological in tone — Sinclair’s National News Desk packages, for example, routinely feature stories not so subtly tilted towards conservative talking points. This makes local stations vehicles for messaging that may not reflect the values, needs, or interests of the communities they serve. Viewers tuning in for city council updates or school board decisions may instead get a corporate segment with no local relevance, or worse, one that subtly shapes public opinion in ways intended by far-off executives.

To be sure, the broadcast industry is facing real challenges. Cord-cutting, digital ad competition, and declining linear audiences are putting enormous financial pressure on traditional TV stations. But using deregulation as a means to expand national reach while offering less local autonomy isn't the answer. If anything, it risks turning local stations into little more than distribution pipes for sanitized, top-down content — a betrayal of the unique value local broadcast journalism has historically offered.

The FCC should think carefully before granting broadcasters even more market control. The core argument — that scale will save local news — simply doesn’t hold water when the largest broadcasters are already using that scale to impose national content across their station groups.

If ownership expansion comes at the cost of editorial independence and truly local storytelling, then we may end up with more uniform programming — but less journalism that actually serves our communities.

Tim Hanlon

Tim Hanlon is the Founder & CEO of the Chicago-based Vertere Group, LLC – a boutique strategic consulting and advisory firm focused on helping today’s most forward-leaning media companies, brands, entrepreneurs, and investors benefit from rapidly changing technological advances in marketing, media and consumer communications.

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