❓WHAT HAPPENED: The National Pulse’s Editor-in-Chief, Raheem Kassam, sat down with Daniel Suhr, president of the Center for American Rights, regarding the latter’s “Lift the Cap” campaign—an effort to push the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to dramatically alter limits to ownership in local broadcast media
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: The National Pulse Editor-in-Chief Raheem Kassam, Daniel Suhr, the FCC, ABC, NBC, CBS, Nexstar, and Sinclair.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The interview occurred on Boxing Day, December 26, 2025.
💬KEY QUOTE: “So many of us rely on local television for things that we care about, local news, local sports—even if we maybe use a streaming service for our national news. The reality is that more Americans tune in to the evening news at 5 or 6 o’clock on their local TV. news than any watch a big cable show like The Five.” — Daniel Suhr
🎯IMPACT: Suhr hopes to see major local broadcasters like Nexstar and Sinclair be able to expand and gain the necessary leverage to not only be able to push back but also influence the parent broadcasters, like NBC, CBS, and ABC.
The National Pulse’s Editor-in-Chief, Raheem Kassam, sat down with Daniel Suhr, president of the Center for American Rights, regarding the latter’s “Lift the Cap” campaign—an effort to push the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to dramatically alter limits to ownership in local broadcast media. Speaking during the annual War Room: Boxing Day Special, Kassam and Suhr examined the implications of the FCC lifting the ownership restrictions, particularly given that television viewers still receive most of their news from local broadcasters.
“So many of us rely on local television for things that we care about, local news, local sports—even if we maybe use a streaming service for our national news. The reality is that more Americans tune in to the evening news at 5 or 6 o’clock on their local TV news than any watch a big cable show like The Five,” Suhr said.
His nonprofit group, the Center for American Rights, is advocating for the FCC to reform its 39 percent ownership cap, which prevents a local broadcast company from reaching more than 39 percent of U.S. households. He also points out that today’s media landscape is vastly different from it was when the cap was instituted, especially with the rise of the streaming giants like Google and YouTube.
DANIEL SUHR: The polls are clear. The American people have completely lost trust in the national legacy media. That’s why it is important that policymakers encourage local TV and revisit their antiquated regulations.@KennethFCrowe1 @MAGAVoice @TheRISEofROD @Megatron_ron pic.twitter.com/oLw6dS6QsF
— Rotten Politicians (@Crusaiderpatri1) December 28, 2025
Suhr contends lifting the ownership cap would “open up a free market,” and that his group’s campaign seeks to “open up greater room for capitalism to stop these government interventions in the market, and instead allow broadcasters to grow in a natural way, in line with what capitalism dictates.” He goes on to note that the campaign has received backing from several notable figures, including Mike Davis of the Article Three Project and free market economist Stephen Moore.
At its core, Suhr hopes to see major local broadcasters, such as Nexstar and Sinclair, expand and gain the necessary leverage to not only push back but also influence the parent broadcasters, including NBC, CBS, and ABC.
DANIEL SUHR: There is currently a cap on local TV stations preventing them from reaching more than 39% of households. We need to open up the market for local broadcasters to compete!
Learn more at https://t.co/Q6MyVpd5Hg !@danielsuhr pic.twitter.com/kRr6bXExgy
— Steve Bannon (@stevebannonroom) December 26, 2025
While, on the face of it, the push to abolish ownership caps for local broadcasters may seem like an ideal policy for a conservative media environment, some claim that if the cap is lifted, safeguards must be put in place to prevent a repeat of the post-Citizens United era in politics, where large corporations can dominate.
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