We all watch or listen to the news, and there are always a number of aspects going on. The first one is we want to know what is going on or we are an interested partner, The second is the company that provided the news needs to be paid and the way it is normally done is advertising. Third, the company sends its information through the airwaves, and the airwaves are owned by the government, which means the government has influence or a say in the business. Behind the news, there are always balls bouncing around. Most of the time, those who consume the news do not really see or think about how the news works.
In an article by Jocelyn Noveck of the Associated Press, one of the largest TV news companies, ABC is suing the Federal Communication Commission (FCC). There are many complications particularly ABC is owned by Disney and Disney has 8 licences.
The FCC has ordered an early review of the 8 licenses owned by ABC, normally licenses are given out for 8 years. The FCC cited the network’s diversity and inclusion practices. That is very unusual, regulators can regulate, they can take licenses away!
The lawsuit alleges time after time, the Administration has attacked ABC’s speech, the stories its journalists report and the viewpoints its network program air. Faced with the continual threats, ABC has no choice but to seek redress from the judicial branch for the Administration’s blatant retaliation for their First Amendment speech.
ABC wants the judge to tell the Administration to back off and leave them alone, until the licenses come up for renewal.
ABC also noted if the Administration gets its way, the message to every media company in the country will be unmistakable: tell only the stories the Administration deems favorable or face the coercive machinery of the federal government.
Ideally this is a long drawn out legal process. ABC and the FCC under its Chair Brendan Carr have been fighting for months, normally this type of thing does not make the court system.
Linking to dividend paying stocks, when you invest in a company you are investing for a particular reason but the reality is all companies have multiple “masters”. For investors, it is the Chairman and President and the Board of Directors (do they get along or are they fighting) there are large shareholders or very vocal one who want to unlock shareholder value (push the stock up); there is the communities in which the company does business in – they contribute to the economy but expect tax breaks in return; at some point there is government regulations, hopefully the companies you invest in at least try to live within government regulations; there is employees and management particularly involving high pay and in some cases unionized workers; and the list goes on. Rarely does the master have the ability to bring down the company, they can injure it, make life more difficult, take a couple years to turn the company are, but the company still thrives.
There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.
