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The volleying continues in the war of words between Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. and opponents of the company's plans for TV station LMAs bound by family ties.
In the latest missive, delivered to the FCC last Tuesday, attorneys for Pulitzer Broadcasting Co. accuse Sinclair of being hypocritical and inconsistent in responding to FCC requests for more information about LMA plans in Greenville, S.C.
Pulitzer last September filed against Sinclair's planned sale of WFBC-TV Anderson/Greenville, S.C., to LMA partner Glencairn Ltd. Glencairn is controlled by Carolyn C. Smith, the mother of Sinclair President David Smith. Sinclair also is acquiring WLOS(TV) Asheville/Greenville.
Pulitzer contends that the sale of WFBC-TV to Glencairn, followed by an LMA with Sinclair, would pose a cross-interest problem and hinder competition. "In a genuinely competitive marketplace, Sinclair would have no concern except its own performance. Here, by contrast, Sinclair has become the guarantor of Glencairn's success...while providing Sinclair an unfair competitive wedge...relative to other television broadcasters," Pulitzer said in its March I 1 letter to the FCC.
At the heart of Pulitzer's complaint are trusts set up by Smith for her grandchildren, the children of the four Smith brothers who run Sinclair. The trusts own 90% of Glencairn's equity in nonconvertible, nonvoting stock, according to Sinclair. The voting stock is held by Glencairn President Edwin L. Edwards Sr., who controls 3% of the company's equity. Carolyn Smith controls 7%. Sinclair maintains an option to purchase Carolyn Smith's interest in Glencairn, according to company...