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The following statement can be attributed to NewsGuild-CWA President Jon Schleuss:
NewsGuild-CWA members are thankful that Speaker Pelosi and Chairman Pallone have joined us in calling on the FCC to scrutinize the takeover attempt of TEGNA, one of the largest producers of local TV news. Hedge fund Standard General, backed by anonymous investors located in the Cayman Islands and elsewhere in the world, will treat TEGNA as just another part of its portfolio of casinos, cruise lines and other non-media properties.
The Speaker and Chairman rarely weigh in on cases like this, but their letter shows that they understand the threat posed by predators like Standard General.
Local news is being murdered by Wall Street firms who are only interested in cutting jobs to finance their debt. The FCC can stop this deal, protect local news and permit our members to serve the public with high quality local news.
The letter from the Speaker and the Chairman is just one more reason the FCC should closely examine this deal and then block it in its entirety. There are no concessions Standard General can make that would turn this deal into one which serves the public interest. As the union of America’s journalists and media workers, we proclaim that it’s time for private equity to stop slaughtering our country’s free press.
About The NewsGuild-CWA
The NewsGuild is the largest union of journalists and media workers in North America, representing about 27,000 workers in media, the public sector at nonprofits and other labor unions. The Guild is one of the fastest growing unions on the continent and is a sector of the Communications Workers of America (CWA), which represents workers in telecommunications and information technology, the airline industry, health care, public service and education, manufacturing and other fields.