Comcast Deal Boosts Media

Chicago, D.C. print pubs benefit from opponents’ ad dollars

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 7/19/2010 12:01:00 AM

“Comcast and NBC Universal: Who Benefits?” was what the House Communications Subcommittee called its field hearing on the proposed merger, held two weeks ago in Chicago. One group already benefiting from the proposed deal is Chicago- and Washington-area print publications.

Free Press took out one ad in the alternative newspaper Chicago Reader that featured a “Wanted” poster with FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski’s picture on it. Meanwhile, the Coalition for Competition in Media, a group of deal opponents including Free Press, took out fullpage ads in the Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times in advance of the hearing. A coalition spokesman would not say what the group paid, but the issue-advocacy rate in the Sun-Times is $24,254 per page.

Back in Washington, the coalition also took out ads last week in Politico, The Hill, Roll Call, Congress AM Daily and CQ Today targeting the deal.

Area cable and TV outlets were sharing the green as well, but from the other side of the argument.