Effort to change Libby TV station selection receives support from Daines

A group of residents spearheading an effort to bring more Montana-based television stations to Lincoln County got a boost from U.S. Sen. Steve Daines’ office last week.

Ron Catlett, a staff member for Daines, told the group that his office would help in anyway possible. Catlett recently attended a weekly meeting of the Lincoln County commissioners in Eureka when the residents again made their case for switching the region’s media market designation.

“We hear the same complaint a lot,” Catlett said. “I get calls on a monthly basis from people unhappy about the media market.”

The effort is aimed at adding Lincoln County to the Missoula media market. Currently, the region falls into the Spokane market, which means most local stations broadcast from Washington.

That struck Joel Cobb, who is leading the movement, as problematic. The county resident said that during forest fires in 2017, the Spokane-based stations gave few updates on the situations. A friend elsewhere in Montana said the local news was wall-to-wall coverage of the blaze, Cobb recalled.

Cobb approached the county commissioners with the idea of changing media markets in January. At the time, he said gauging the board’s level of support — or lack of interest — was his primary goal.

County commissioners Mark Peck and Josh Letcher both expressed interest. The third county commissioner, Jerry Bennett, who was out of town during the original presentation, added his support Feb. 19.

To make the change, Cobb plans to circulate a petition and garner public support. Once that’s done, they will submit a request to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for approval.

Commissioners have said they will hold public hearings across the county to garner input as well.

Cobb also sought commissioners’ blessing to launch a Facebook page aimed at soliciting feedback on the idea. Not everyone might be happy with losing the Spokane-based stations for Missoula, even if many are owned by the same parent companies, Cobb said.

But Peck reported hearing no opposition in the weeks since Cobb first approached the board.

Cobb remained unsure if the change involved a financial outlay from the county. It would also involve lobbying the Nielsen Company, he said, telling commissioners that he planned to step up the campaign in mid-spring.

Peck agreed to meet with Libby constituents in the meantime. Bennett plans to discuss the change with Troy residents as well. Catlett also pledged to aid the effort.