A “saving grace” of the Sinclair/Allbritton deal is...

A “saving grace” of the Sinclair/Allbritton deal is the elimination of the sharing arrangements between the stations involved, said United Church of Christ Policy Adviser Cheryl Leanza in an email Thursday. “Sidecar agreements that transfer the vast majority of the value of a station to the larger company do little to further the goals of media diversity and competition,” Leanza said. It would have been better for Sinclair to transfer the licenses of the stations involved rather than shutter them, Leanza said. However, “at least the sidecar deals which replicate consolidation through loopholes to the FCC’s rules were eliminated,” said the email. The commission should “go further” and address all sharing deals “as rapidly as possible,” she said.