Media Consolidation Impacts NABET-CWA Members

Last month, members of NABET-CWA Local 51018 in Rhode Island learned of the purchase of their news station, ABC6 (WLNE), by Sinclair Inc., the parent company of rival station NBC10 (WJAR). Sinclair now controls the infrastructure and operations of both news outlets, though it did not change license ownership, skirting anti-monopoly regulations. Members at WLNE are calling for a boycott of both stations. Sinclair Inc. owns over 180 local television stations across the country and this deal will make Sinclair and Nexstar the only local TV station owners in the entire state.

The current deal will close the newsroom and other operations at WLNE. Most of the workers at WLNE, including NABET-CWA members, will be terminated, with a few to be absorbed into the WJAR operation. Those who make the transition to WJAR will no longer be represented by NABET-CWA but will either fall under a contract negotiated with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers or be rehired to unrepresented positions within WJAR.

Kelly Bates, an on-air meteorologist and NABET-CWA member, left her previous station after a contract dispute with Sinclair in 2021. In a Facebook video, Bates said, “It happened again. Our station was just bought by the station I worked for previously, and that parent company has decided I am a redundancy and need to go.”

NABET-CWA Local 51018 members met with Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island Sabina Matos earlier this month to discuss the changes to the local media landscape and what this merger means for the general public. The elimination of an independent parent company could result in fewer journalists to cover news, fewer experienced meteorologists in the market, and less diversity to foster community.

Workers at ABC6-WLNE formed their union with NABET-CWA in April 2024.

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This post originally appeared on cwa-union.org.