Public-Interest Coalition Sues FCC for Unlawful Approval of Largest Broadcast Merger in History 

WASHINGTON – On Monday, Free Press, the Communications Workers of America, the United Church of Christ Media Justice Ministry, Inc. and Public Knowledge filed an appeal of the Federal Communications Commission’s rushed approval of the largest broadcast television merger in U.S. history. 

The challenge, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, asks the court to stop the merger of Nexstar and Tegna before it proceeds and the companies combine all operations, and asks the court to set aside the FCC’s approval of the deal. The groups assert that the merger is unlawful — in contradiction of laws established by Congress and of FCC procedures, too. 

Democracy Forward represents the coalition in the case, filing a notice of appeal and motion on Monday.

“The whole point of these deals is not better news coverage, as these massive companies claim,” said Matt Wood, Free Press’ vice president of policy and general counsel. “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. We’re ready to challenge this unlawful deal before the courts and alongside the communities that Nexstar is supposed to be serving.” 

“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,” said Charlie Braico, president of NABET-CWA. “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,” said Cheryl A. Leanza, policy advisor for the United Church of Christ Media Justice Ministry, Inc. “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.” 

“One of Nexstar’s stated goals for this merger is to extract higher fees from pay-TV providers — which are ultimately paid by subscribers,” said John Bergmayer, Public Knowledge’s legal director. “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.” 

If allowed to proceed, the merger would allow Nexstar to own or operate 265 full-power television stations, reaching more than 80 percent of U.S. television households, more than twice the 39 percent national media ownership limit set by Congress. In many markets, Nexstar would control half or more of all commercial stations that air 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.

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