I Thought the Game Was Rigged. Turns Out, the FCC Just Changed the Rules – Op-ED
By: Adam Reuter
On January 24, I wrote an Op-Ed right here on The Baltimore Informer tearing into the “Gatekeepers”—the local media titans who decide which candidates are “viable” based on their bank accounts. I wrote it with the bitter taste of 2022 in my mouth, remembering how I was ghosted by TV stations while the incumbent, Johnny Olszewski, enjoyed weekly radio segments and fawning coverage of “official” ribbon-cuttings.
I wrote that piece believing I was fighting a moral battle. I didn’t realize I was actually winning a legal one.
Unbeknownst to me—and apparently to the assignment editors at WBAL, WJZ, WMAR and WBFF—the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) dropped a nuclear bomb on the “establishment protection racket” just three days prior.
On January 21, 2026, the FCC released Directive DA-26-68A1. And just like that, the “Safe Harbor” that local stations have used to ignore underdog candidates for decades evaporated.
The “Partisan Purpose” Trap
For years, stations have hidden behind the “Bona Fide News” exemption. They claimed that giving an incumbent 10 minutes of airtime to talk about a “beautification project” or hosting a weekly “County Executive Update” wasn’t political—it was just “news.” This loophole allowed them to act as the de facto PR firm for the administration while pretending challengers like me didn’t exist.
The new FCC guidance changes the game. It explicitly states that news exemptions do not apply to programs or segments “motivated by partisan purposes.”
Read that again.
If a station consistently covers an incumbent’s “official duties” (like a business ribbon cutting, government building groundbreaking or park opening) but refuses to cover a challenger’s policy announcements, that is no longer “editorial discretion.” That is now evidence of partisan intent. And under federal law (47 U.S.C. § 315), that triggers a legal obligation to provide “comparable time and placement” to every other qualified candidate on the ballot.
The 2022 Blackout vs. The 2026 Audit
In 2022, I was the only other name on the Democratic ballot for County Executive. The math was simple: two candidates, two perspectives. Yet, the stations pretended there was only one. They hid behind their exemptions, and I had no recourse.
But the 2026 cycle is going to be different.
Today, I will be sending formal Notices of Intent to Monitor to the News Directors at WBAL, WJZ, WMAR, and WBFF. I didn’t ask them for coverage. I notified them that The Baltimore Informer is now auditing their broadcast transcripts.
We aren’t looking for “fairness”—we are looking for compliance.
- That weekly “softball” interview with a Council Member? We’re logging it.
- That 6:00 PM segment on the “official” opening of a parking lot? We’re logging it.
- The silence when a “non-establishment” challenger releases a platform? We’re logging that, too.
It is laughable to watch station managers pat themselves on the back for their ‘Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion’ initiatives while they hand 90% of their airtime to the same entrenched political machine. You want to talk about diversity? How about the diversity of ideas? You want to talk about inclusion? Then stop excluding every candidate who doesn’t have a ‘Councilman’ or ‘Executive’ title before their name. True equity isn’t just about hiring practices; it’s about Equal Time. If you are silencing minority challengers, working-class candidates, or political outsiders because they don’t have a six-figure consulting firm on retainer, you aren’t championing diversity. You are enforcing a political caste system. By ignoring challengers to protect the status quo, you aren’t fighting systemic bias—you are the definition of it.
The New Rules of Engagement
To the candidates running on credit cards and grit: You have a weapon now. If you see your opponent getting free airtime for a “staged” event, you have seven days to file a demand letter. The law is no longer prioritizing the “bona fide” news judgment of a station manager who lunches with the establishment. It is prioritizing you.
To the media gatekeepers: You can’t hide behind the “War Chest” excuse anymore. You can’t claim challengers aren’t “newsworthy” or not “viable” simply because they don’t buy ads during your evening news block.
I wrote last week that the media “better not fail” the 2026 candidates. Today, I’m telling you that if they do, they won’t just be failing their viewers—they’ll be violating federal guidelines.
The “Informer” is watching. And this time, we brought receipts.
