Veteran diverse programmer and former Democratic FCC official Frank Washington has asked the FCC to approve the purchase of Tegna by Standard General, with an assist from minority-owned Apollo Global Management in the form of financing and the acquisition of some spin-off stations from the meld.
That is according to a document filed with the FCC.
Washington is CEO of Crossings TV (Tower of Babel, LLC), which offers diverse foreign-language programming targeted to Asian-American audiences. Standard General is run by Soo Kim, who is Asian American.
Also: Soo Kim on The Imperative to Reinvigorate Local TV News and Civic Engagement
Washington also helped create the minority tax certificate program while an official with the Carter White House, he pointed out in his comments, and was a legal assistant to FCC chairman Charlie Ferris and one-time deputy chief of the FCC's then Broadcast and Cable Bureau (now Media Bureau).
Point being he has plenty of experience with agency practices and programs affecting diversity, he said.
Before it was eliminated in 1995 over concerns about abuse, the tax certificate program provided tax breaks to media companies that sold broadcast properties to eligible minorities.
Also: Standard General's Soo Kim Does Not Understand Tegna Deal Opposition
Washington pointed to the special difficulties facing minorities seeking to own large media companies, which was the impetus behind the minority tax certificate program that many have supported reinstating, including the National Association of Broadcasters and some legislators.
Given that difficulty, Washington said the FCC should recognize the importance of promoting Asian-American-owned programming outlets and grant the deal.
The FCC has sought comment on just how it should conduct the public interest review of the merger. The FCC is required to look beyond antitrust and competition issues--which Justice focuses on in its review--to how the deal will serve the public.
Washington suggests that the public service of reducing the paucity of minority ownership, and thus viewpoints, should be self-evident.
Opponents of the deal include The NewsGuild-CWA and the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians (NABET)-CWA and Graham Media Holdings, which filed petitions to deny the merger.
While Standard General and Tegna have long promoted the deal's diversity a a public interest benefit, the unions counter that the deal will instead cause “significant losses to ownership diversity." ■
