By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

Cable subscribers in Jackson and Macon counties are facing the possibility of losing local ABC affiliate WLOS Channel 13 unless cable provider Mediacom and Sinclair Broadcast Group can reach an equitable agreement before Dec. 1.

When Federal Communications Commission officials came to Asheville last week to discuss media ownership regulations, they got an earful from a crowd that was mostly against media consolidation of any kind. We hope FCC officials get this reaction everywhere they go, because the decisions they make in the next few years could have a profound and, perhaps, chilling effect on the media as we know it today.

It happened months back, but the request was typical of what we hear everyday in this business: will you do a story about us?

That’s a request I like to get. We are, after all, in the business of telling stories, whether it’s about your government or your neighbor.