Washington, D.C. – The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rushed the approval of the largest broadcast merger in history due to political influence, signing off on a deal between Nexstar and TEGNA in contradiction to laws established by Congress and FCC procedures, according to an appeal filed today by Free Press, Communications Workers of America, the United Church of Christ Media Justice Ministry, Inc. and Public Knowledge. The coalition is represented in the case by Democracy Forward.
The challenge, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, asks the court to stop the merger before it is allowed to proceed and become irreversible, and asks the court to set aside the FCC’s approval of the merger as unlawful.
“The whole point of these deals is not better news coverage, as these massive companies claim. They’re all about raising consumer prices while slashing the companies’ costs, which means firing reporters and centralizing the production of top-down, duplicative and watered-down news. Once again, the Carr FCC has shown itself to be incapable of protecting the public interest in broadcasting. We’re ready to challenge this unlawful deal before the courts and alongside the communities that Nexstar is supposed to be serving,” said Matt Wood, Free Press’ Vice President of Policy and General Counsel.
“Our members have seen time and time again what happens when corporations are allowed to consolidate media ownership,” said NABET-CWA president Charlie Braico. “In the service of Wall Street profits, newsrooms shrink, workers lose jobs, wages decline and local news suffers. Communities rely on quality local news for information on emergencies, weather – and maybe most importantly, as a democratic check on political leaders. When we starve our newsrooms, we weaken our local communities and our democracy. This merger doesn’t comply with the law – and it will create an unprecedented shift in this country and dramatically change local television stations for the worse.” A recent report from NABET-CWA also highlights Nexstar’s treatment of workers. “It’s no surprise that a company that flouts the law with its workers also flouts the law when it comes to the American public. Just like this company censored a comedian that politicians didn’t like, it censors its workers. If a company like this is allowed to grow and control even more of our news media, the harms will be irreparable.”
“The United Church of Christ Media Justice Ministry believes that communication is a human right. Without fair, local, accountable media, our church members cannot fulfill their faithful obligation to love their neighbors. It becomes impossible for anyone to know what their elected officials are doing or hold them accountable. Communities lose the local journalism that knits them together. The FCC’s flagrant disregard for communities and for the law must be stopped,” said Cheryl A. Leanza, Policy Advisor for the United Church of Christ Media Justice Ministry, Inc.
“One of Nexstar’s stated goals for this merger is to extract higher fees from pay-TV providers – which are ultimately paid by subscribers. But in addition to costing viewers more, Nexstar wants to serve them less. After past mergers, in market after market, Nexstar has closed newsrooms and cut reporters. Nothing stops it from doing the same here. Congress rightly made broadcast consolidation of this scale illegal. That’s why we’ve asked the D.C. Circuit to stop this illegal merger,” said John Bergmayer, Legal Director, Public Knowledge.
The merger of Nexstar Media Group and TEGNA would allow Nexstar to effectively own and/or operate 265 full-power television stations, reaching more than 80% of U.S. television households, more than twice the 39% national media ownership limit set by Congress in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2004. In many markets, Nexstar would control half or more of all commercial stations airing English-language news, further limiting options in already concentrated markets.
“The rushed, politically motivated merger of Nexstar and TEGNA makes a mockery of the rules Congress created to prevent broadcast media monopolies,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. “In order to allow the massive merger to proceed, instead of requiring that the companies follow rules established by Congress, the FCC unilaterally and unlawfully rescinded the rules the merger would be required to follow. This consolidation would deprive people of choices in their media consumption and flood the media landscape with a single corporate viewpoint, which represents a threat to a functioning democracy. Democracy Forward is honored to work with this dynamic coalition to challenge this harmful and improper decision.”
The legal team at Democracy Forward on the case includes Paul Wolfson, Kali Schellenberg, Bradley Girard, Andrew Bookbinder, and Robin Thurston.
The notice of appeal can be found here and the motion to stay can be found here.
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Democracy Forward Foundation is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.
