David Folkenflik
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
The president seems intent on exercising hard power.
on the idea of threats, on the idea of takeovers, on the idea of bombing Iran.
Whether or not you agree with those individual policies, I think you can see there's a consistency to what he's done in that regard.
If consummated, Nexstar would own 259 stations in 44 states in the District of Columbia.
The Federal Communications Commission waived its rules to allow Nexstar to reach 80% of U.S.
households, more than doubling the current allowed figure.
The commission didn't even have a public debate or a vote.
Its lone Democrat condemned the decision.
FCC Chair Brendan Carr argues the move will ensure the viability of local stations.
Carr said he wants to strengthen the hand of local station owners against national networks.
As it sought approval, Nexstar backed Carr's attacks on ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel and mocked CNN in an ad campaign.
The Justice Department also signed off on the deal.
We've talked to a half dozen folks inside CNN in the last 24 hours.
They, of course, are speaking on the condition they not be named because they're fearful about job security down the line, and they haven't been authorized to talk about this stuff.
And one, I think it's financial and it would be regardless of the climate around them.
And the second is the question of journalistic independence.
And I think that's about the here and now.