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It makes one wonder how it is that a media company cannot exist unless they literally break the law as currently written (or a thinly veiled "waiver"). Either the law itself needs to be changed in some way or the company is conducting itself in a manner that is predatory and inherently illegal. I think the answer is clearly the latter. Last time I checked, companies not constantly looking to buy up smaller ones seem to be running well on average. Hearst comes to mind as a great example. Companies that are not being run well is usually the fault of poor management that leads to bad decisions and outcomes - not market conditions. Is there a decline in TV? Absolutely. But consolidation does nothing but pour gasoline on the trend away from linear TV. It fosters more mistrust by the public. As it currently stands, a small business owner cannot simply just launch or buy a station - except very rarely. Why? Not because TV is actually unprofitable. Nexstar or a similar sized company will stop at nothing to block out any small competitor. If you own all but one viable station in a given market, the huge disproportionate market share means that the small contender will face untold opposition just to exist. And even the best sales team will have a tough time trying to sell spots to clients for a station that only gets 20-30% of the market share. Any business looking to advertise is going to go to the one that has the larger reach that offer prices deliberately priced low to put further pressure on its competition. This is a wake-up call to all that the decades long trend of weakened ownership rules needs to be seriously addressed. Markets in general should be filled with small business owners (single market contenders). Indeed, the trend of meteorologists successfully moving toward independent streaming is a sign that people do not want more corporate control of the media they consume. People want trustworthy media that is responsive and accountable to its audience - and most usually only a company with true local ties to the market is going to care.

Congress will not be doing that. Republicans do not have the numbers to pass legislation. I hope the Democrats hall Perry Sook, Carr and Bondi in front of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee and House Energy and Commerce Committee to grill these motherfuckers.

Realistically, the only undoing of this deal is any reparations of laid off staffers when this deal was ruled illegal, and if it takes down Nexstar, so be it. Nexstar f-ed around.. They'll find out one day.

I’m sorry, but this is wholly fucked. Nobody with a straight face can pretend this serves the viewer. What it does serve is debt structures, investor appetites, and the same consolidation treadmill that’s been shredding local news for decades. Every time one of these mega-deals goes through, newsrooms shrink, investigative coverage dies off, and more “local” stations start parroting the same pre-packaged garbage. Carr’s statement is pure, Grade A bullshit. The idea that this somehow helps local broadcasters “compete” with tech companies is laughable. Google and Facebook don’t produce journalism. They host distribution networks. Nexstar and Tegna are supposed to create the journalism those platforms amplify. But instead of reinvesting in actual reporting, they’ll gut staff and load up on syndicated filler while pretending it’s innovation. This isn’t modernization. It’s cannibalization, and we’re watching what’s left of local news get carved up for parts.

This could not be sitting well with some of the networks... It's only a matter of time before one of them pulls the plug because they're not comfortable with a company that can potentially control one or more of their competitors in a market. Just another way to hasten the demise of broadcast television...

The FCC and DOJ cannot get past the law though. All other deals were done within the framework of the law (or denied in a few cases). This is a blatant disregard of laws set by Congress.

If the lawsuits are successful and the court rules Nexstar must divest all former Tegna stations (perhaps to a trust to be sold in a group or individually), then those markets would be included. Basically the ruling undoes the merger, regardless if any duopolois, or triopolies were created. If the ruling applies only to markets where Nexstar doesn't currently operate then they are lost, but I would think the issue is undo the merger, not be selective about it. But how the AGs and DirecTV proceed, will be telling. Their claim is not just the multiple station ownership in markets, but the size of Nexstar itself and how it can screw others including networks. First step is what modifications the AGs make in their suit, and the opening briefs. Nexstar will of course claim the lawsuits should be thrown out. Hopefully this won't be before trump loyal judges like Aileen Cannon.

This is probably the worst deal to hit broadcast television since all of the RKO General corruption came to light or when NBC forced themselves on Philadelphia only to send KYW packing to Cleveland for a few years. I won't believe a thing until the bodies pile up from all of the stations Nexstar should have no control over. That's when the REAL lawsuits should start flying. And if Nexstar ILLEGALLY takes over these stations, they should be held liable and fined into oblivion. Much like when Media General took back WAGT for a few days against a legimate transfer of ownership that they refused to comply with. But the way things are headed, this is just a fraction of the problems in our country today. Laws be damned. -30-

"A new strike in Iran this evening, but first a word from today's sponsors: SquareSpace, HelloFresh, and Factor."

1) Mizzou is a non-profit university, so they don't need to worry as much about raking in the cash and meeting quotas to keep the stocks up. The joys of being a land-grant research institution! 2) That station is part of why the Missouri School of Journalism is one of the top journalism programs out there, and a huge draw for prospective students by getting to train in an actual newsroom (not discounting campus journalism programs- Mizzou carved out their niche by having KOMU). 3) Who says they wouldn't sell if the right offer came along?

Was reading up on the ownership cap. It was statutory 35% in the telecommunications act of 1996 but instructed the Fcc to review and change it periodically so in 2004 the Fcc decided to make it 45% and bipartisan pushback ensued resulting in the CAA of 2004 39%. Congress froze the cap but didn't define Fcc authority on related rules to it, making it appear as a rule not a statute. Said nothing about the UHF discount, calculated the 39% cap with it in place, and prevented CBS and FOX from having to divest stations. When Chairman Powell then issued a public notice asking for comments whether Congress's silence on the discount meant the FCC can eliminate it, congress never responded formally. Courts later determined that the CAA of 2004 insulated the discount from change during ownership reviews. And now we're here

As someone who considers MS NOW the only credible source for television news in America but at the same time was very upset by the first wave of changes resulting in the cancellation of The Reidout, Alex Wagner Tonight, and The Katie Phang Show, I support most of the changes here. The less Morning Joe the better. This show should never have been 4 hours. I never watch the program and being on the west coast it's easy to ignore, but 4 hours of any show is overkill. Moving Stephanie Ruhle back to mornings make sense as she was never a good fit for The 11th Hour. Ratings for the show have collapsed with her as host and she just didn't fit as a lead-out of the left wing opinions in primetime. Ali Velshi is a much better fit for the program. Alicia Menendez deserves her own show and she was being wasted on The Weeknight. She is great at subbing for Nicolle Wallace and I think this is a great way to get people who watch Deadline White House but currently ignore MS NOW daytime to tune in earlier. Jacob Soboroff is fantastic and it's about time he had his own show on the network. Being a weekend show still allows for him to do reporting during the week which is also bonus More Chris Hayes the better. I feel like the network has unfairly diminished his role at the network and under promoted his show. They have put so much focus on launching and promoting other shows while not giving him and All In the attention it deserves. I don't understand why Katy Tur remains as anchor on this network. She doesn't fit in at all. If anything she should have moved to reporting with Chris Jansing remaining as anchor. Katy Tur is horrible as anchor but was actually good when she was a reporter on the campaign trail. In my view it makes more sense to keep Chris Jansing as anchor as she is good at covering breaking news, something that is needed for a 24 hour news channel. She manages cover news without upsetting the left wing audience, Richard Lui is another anchor who is great at covering breaking news and is being under underutilized by the network I still don't think Rebecca Kutler is the right fit to lead this network. The network should be thriving but instead comes off as unprepared and muted to what is actually happening and seems too concerned about criticism from the right. At times the network appears desperate to focus on small failures of Trump and trying to look for positives when I think most of the audience wants a more serious and somber take of what's happening. Katie Phang & Joy Reid's youtube shows are drastically better than anything this network is putting out.

The person who runs the Studio 31 Media Archives account on YouTube has posted their reaction:

There are many ways to unscramble the egg. For now Plaintiffs would move to get an injunction from a federal judge, if granted Tegna will continue to operate as is while the trial makes its way through the system. If they're merged at some point while in active litigation and Nexstar loses, they'll divest under court ordered conditions

Meanwhile, the headline for the Hollywood Reporter's article is amusing: "Nexstar Closes $6.2 Billion Tegna Merger, Creating Local TV Giant" The headline writer must be new.

They'll try to demand more. That more will become less as cord cutting continues. The cycle continues, getting a little faster each time.

Between CNNI's dual focus on Europe and Asia (each in a batch of different time zones) and their use of CNN/US shows, I don't think the global channel originates what would be considered a dead hour of news.

Well, crap. There are a bunch of markets that will go from four separately-owned news-producing stations to three (such as Portland, OR, and here in CT), but there are also some that will go from three separately-owned to two (Sacramento, possibly Hampton Roads). Not good. And probably too late for Jimmy Kimmel to comment on it before the weekend, too. Currently, three of those (WTHR, WAVY, and KNWA) are NBC affiliates. How much do you want to bet those affiliations are going to get moved to subchannels of stations Nexstar's keeping? (If I ran NBC, I'd be informing them the affiliations are staying with those stations, thank you very much.)

I'm genuinely finding it surreal that the deal was both approved and closed at the same time, for a deal as large as this. Did I miss where the FCC actually changed the ownership cap rules? All I know is Commissioner Carr was floating the idea, but I don't recall the rule being amended or changed formally.

I hope the courts do overturn this deal and Nexstar is forced to divest all of the Tegna stations. And since Tegna no longer technically exists, Nexstar should be forced to sell these stations as going concerns...or be forced to restore the stations to the way they were before they took over them.

Just another deplorable and foreboding moment for this industry and this country.

Aside from WAVY and WTHR, these divestitures are a joke. Stations that are tied to the hips of their parent stations instead of the standalone ones that should have been sold off. KTVD is tied to KUSA. Both of these should have been divested to another party. WUPL is tied to WWL. I cringe to think how much more Nexstar can destroy WWL than what Tegna has already done. KNWA is tied to KFTA. WCTX is tied to WTIC. And this leaves out other major conflicts in places like Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Columbus, Cleveland, Little Rock, Memphis, Portland, St. Louis, Quad Cities, Grand Rapids, and others where Nexstar now owns 3 or more stations.

American Telephone & Telegraph

I seriously have problems comprehending that our FCC AND DOJ actually approved this deal. That is how screwed up our government is. There's so much more these bastards deserve than being voted out of office.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/nexstar-closes-tegna-deal-creating-local-tv-giant-1236541636/ "With the greenlight, Nexstar will begin integrating Tegna into its operations. Although the lawsuits from the states and DirecTV pose a threat, courts have historically been more open to stopping a deal rather than unwinding one." I've contacted my AG directly.

DirecTV has filed its own lawsuit to block the merger

I'm happy they have a voice over again but I hate the voice. I'm hoping this is a temporary open and within a year or so there will be new ones. The newsroom portion just seems disjointed. I suspect new graphics by the 28 Olympics as these will be 7 years old and the Olympics are in LA in 28. I wish they would have gone back to using the Tower with the updates as their music since they're emphasizing that they're in the NBC tower in their open.

If Anderson start promoting Ethos during AC360, I’m done with CNN.

"we need to be approachable and relatable" How? "the kids like podcasts so make it all look like a podcast"

It makes sense given they refer to WPWR as 'FOX Chicago +'. But they better not get rid of the '32' again...

Original KTLA Morning News co-anchor Carlos Amezcua shares his thoughts on the departure of his friend Mark Kriski. He also provides input on the state of local TV news in today's world. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/carlos-amezcua-a9a9656_my-analysis-of-how-not-to-handle-the-departure-activity-7435073904815013889-0U-t?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAABWW9Z4B2seLz3kVXk8aCPDB2xcivXViJvA

Interesting.

Could the "Fox Chicago" branding be making a comeback?

Haha the Tony era is nearly over. They’re starting the rapid set changes already which is where they always begin. And while I don’t think CBS is necessarily trying to compete with NBC or ABC for viewership anymore, headlines like this can’t be going over well:

One of the best news anchors New York ever had.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that a coalition of states including California, Colorado and New York are planning an antitrust challenge to the deal.

Radio Insight is reporting that CBS News Radio will be closing down May 22. Another sad day for US media. https://radioinsight.com/headlines/343855/cbs-news-radio-to-shut-down-in-may/

From NC Attorney General Jeff Jackson about the merger being approved, and filed an emergency motion with the other state AGs.

CBS News is going through another round of layoffs. As a result, CBS News Radio is shutting down on May 22nd: https://radioinsight.com/headlines/343855/cbs-news-radio-to-shut-down-in-may/

And on this same day Nexstar says this acquisition is complete, as they got FCC and DOJ approval: https://www.nexstar.tv/nexstar-media-group-inc-closes-acquisition-of-tegna-inc/

They’ve been using it as sign off tagline in recent weeks and the Fox Chicago logo is in use at the Michigan Ave entrance to their offices.

Looks like WREG is going to the simplified Nexstar graphics train.