A Free Press report disputes the investment numbers cited by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, saying that its own analysis shows an increase in network investment spending since the 2015 Title II Net Neutrality order.
Internet service providers have not slowed investment into infrastructure and networks since the passage of Net Neutrality rules despite industry's claims to the contrary, a Free Press study found.
Widespread support for strong Net neutrality rules continues. But Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai has made a point of trumpeting anti-Net Neutrality sentiment.
The deal between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Tribune Media would give the conservative-leaning company control of local news coverage in 70 percent of American households.
"In just a matter of days, the FCC’s majority will tee up an item aimed at dismantling the open-internet protections that so many Americans fought for and won back in 2015," the Democratic Commission said in a speech delivered at a broadband forum in Los Angeles.
Relaxed media consolidation rules have allowed Sinclair Broadcasting to bid for Tribune Media, creating a local news behemoth with a conservative bent.
The News Voices project, which existed in New Jersey for two years before launching last month in Charlotte and Durham, aims to connect journalists with residents of Charlotte's more marginalized communities and populations and help them build more in-depth relationships with the people they report on.