Press Release
Tribune Sale Should End Legacy of Backroom Deals
Contact: Timothy Karr, 201-533-8838
WASHINGTON -- Consumer groups and media policy experts today called on the Federal Communications Commission to carefully scrutinize the $8.2 billion takeover of Tribune Co. by Chicago real estate tycoon Sam Zell. Free Press, Media Access Project and Consumers Union said the deal must not be approved unless the new owners follow existing law and comply with the prohibition on owning a daily newspaper and TV or radio stations in the same city.
"The new Tribune Co. needs to follow the rules," said Josh Silver, executive director of Free Press, which coordinates the StopBigMedia.com Coalition. "Bigger isn't always better, and cross-owning conglomerates like Tribune have been a disaster for the localism, diversity and competition the FCC is supposed to protect. The media giants have been manipulating the system for too long. It's time to end the backroom deals and stop special waivers."
Tribune currently owns 16 newspapers and 23 television stations, among them both a major daily newspaper and a TV station in Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Hartford, Conn., Los Angeles and New York. The FCC gave the company temporary waivers in four of the markets when Tribune bought Times Mirror Co. in 2000. In Chicago, where Tribune owns both its flagship paper and WGN-TV, the arrangement was "grandfathered" when the FCC instituted its ban on newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership in 1975. But the law states that waivers do not convey to new owners when properties change hands.
"As when it bought the Times Mirror newspapers, Tribune is betting that it can get the FCC to bend its rules," said Andrew Jay Schwartzman, president of Media Access Project. "It was wrong the first time, and now there is an even higher obstacle to obtaining regulatory relief. The fact that there are willing buyers like Eli Broad and Ron Burkle who would break up the newspaper/TV combinations makes it especially hard to justify a special FCC waiver."
The FCC is currently reviewing media ownership rules, including the ban on newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership. The commissioners are committed to holding six public hearings, including one April 30 in Tampa, Fla. In addition, dozens of organizations and tens of thousands of citizens have filed comments with the FCC opposing any weakening of media ownership rules.
"Even if Tribune shareholders rubber stamp this transaction, the FCC should not," said Jeannine Kenney, senior policy analyst at Consumers Union. "The FCC has an obligation to protect the public interest by enforcing its own rules prohibiting ownership of both broadcast and television properties. Any prior justification for Tribune's existing waivers to the current cross-ownership ban can no longer stand."
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"The new Tribune Co. needs to follow the rules," said Josh Silver, executive director of Free Press, which coordinates the StopBigMedia.com Coalition. "Bigger isn't always better, and cross-owning conglomerates like Tribune have been a disaster for the localism, diversity and competition the FCC is supposed to protect. The media giants have been manipulating the system for too long. It's time to end the backroom deals and stop special waivers."
Tribune currently owns 16 newspapers and 23 television stations, among them both a major daily newspaper and a TV station in Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Hartford, Conn., Los Angeles and New York. The FCC gave the company temporary waivers in four of the markets when Tribune bought Times Mirror Co. in 2000. In Chicago, where Tribune owns both its flagship paper and WGN-TV, the arrangement was "grandfathered" when the FCC instituted its ban on newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership in 1975. But the law states that waivers do not convey to new owners when properties change hands.
"As when it bought the Times Mirror newspapers, Tribune is betting that it can get the FCC to bend its rules," said Andrew Jay Schwartzman, president of Media Access Project. "It was wrong the first time, and now there is an even higher obstacle to obtaining regulatory relief. The fact that there are willing buyers like Eli Broad and Ron Burkle who would break up the newspaper/TV combinations makes it especially hard to justify a special FCC waiver."
The FCC is currently reviewing media ownership rules, including the ban on newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership. The commissioners are committed to holding six public hearings, including one April 30 in Tampa, Fla. In addition, dozens of organizations and tens of thousands of citizens have filed comments with the FCC opposing any weakening of media ownership rules.
"Even if Tribune shareholders rubber stamp this transaction, the FCC should not," said Jeannine Kenney, senior policy analyst at Consumers Union. "The FCC has an obligation to protect the public interest by enforcing its own rules prohibiting ownership of both broadcast and television properties. Any prior justification for Tribune's existing waivers to the current cross-ownership ban can no longer stand."
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