CWA Groups: Not Enough Evidence Standard/Tegna Is in the Public Interest

Standard General and Tegna “have not provided information sufficient to establish even a prima facie case that grant of the applications would be in the public interest,” said the Communications Workers of America's NewsGuild and National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians sectors, in a call with an aide to FCC Commissioner Brandon Carr, according to an ex parte filing posted Friday in docket 22-162. “The unusually complex arrangements in this docket merit further scrutiny,” the filing said. “Undisclosed or excessive foreign ownership and investment implicates other public interest issues, including localism, diversity and maintaining a robust market for news,” the unions said. The transaction “reaches the Commission in the context of a changing geopolitical environment,” said the filing. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sought additional scrutiny of the acquisition Thursday (see 2210060033).