Media Council Opposes Hawaii Station Pool

The non-profit Media Council Hawaii (MCH) is asking the FCC to look into whether the merger between Raycom’s KHNL and KFVE and MCG Capital Corp.’s KGMB is in violation of stations’ commitment to serve their community, reports the Honoloulu Star Bulletin.

Under the agreement, Raycom would manage KGMB, a CBS affiliate.

MCH has retained Washington-based Institute for Public Representation to fight the merger. The Council is challenging the Raycom-MCG alliance with the FCC.

Reports the Star-Bulletin:

The council’s announcement calls the agreement a “thinly veiled attempt to avoid regulatory scrutiny by the FCC” which will have Raycom exercise control over all three stations in violation of the FCC’s multiple-ownership rules.

“Raycom will control 45 percent of all the (TV advertising) revenues in this market as well as editorial control, programming and advertising sales related to all three stations,” it says.

MCH describes itself as a volunteer media council that is “composed of individuals from the community and the media and is a non-partisan, non-profit, non-governmental independent group, which seeks to improve public access to information, strengthen public support for First Amendment rights and freedoms, broaden public understanding of the role of the media, and promote accurate and fair journalism in Hawaii.”