NEW YORK—In a bid to win last minute support for its acquisition of Tegna, Standard General has made additional commitments to representatives of The NewsGuild-CWA (TNG) and National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians-CWA (NABET). Both unions have opposed the acquisition.
The new commitments promises TNG and NABET additional job protections, no layoffs and increased news budgets at Tegna stations, building on early promises made to expand Tegna’s news operations and protect jobs.
“Standard General is fully dedicated to protecting good-paying jobs, expanding the diversity of ownership in media, and strengthening unbiased local news coverage across the country,” said Soo Kim, founding partner of Standard General. “The commitments announced today underscore the strong, good-faith relationship between Standard General, organized labor and the American public. The only obstacle to this deal moving forward is the Federal Communications Commission refusing to hold a vote on the deal. All we’re asking for is a vote, and if they say no to doing that, they are saying no to sharing the benefits of the competitive financing rates we locked in last year to make our multi-year local jobs guarantees and commitments for expanding news budgets, to unquestionably benefitting localism and to increasing minority media ownership by 300%.”
If the Tegna transaction is completed, these additional commitments, together with Standard General’s prior binding and enforceable commitments and news programming plans, will ensure the stability of Tegna’s workforce and significantly enhance each station’s resources and operations, the company said.
The additional commitments include, among others:
- No newsroom layoffs for three years. This is in addition to Standard General’s December 22, 2022 voluntary commitment not to conduct headcount reductions of Tegna newsroom employees for at least two years following close of the transaction. This commitment is unprecedented in the current media environment where widespread job cuts are being regularly announced. This commitment covers all TNG-NABET employees at Tegna.
- Increasing local news budgets and hours of local news programming by an average of 20% across Tegna-owned stations within three years of closing. Standard General’s business model is to grow local news programming, which historically it has done by over 11,000 hours per year.
- Establishing a $5 million local journalism grant fund. Standard General committed to create a new grant fund for Tegna in an amount of at least $5 million per year for three years immediately following closing of the deal to support an environment where local journalism can grow, not just at the Tegna stations, but more broadly.
- Neutrality for unions by establishing various non-disparagement policies following the close of the deal because Standard General values the contributions of Tegna’s unions and their members, and because Standard General wishes to build upon these relationships, the company reported.
While TNG and NABET remain opposed to the deal, Standard General highlighted support from other labor leaders.
“Mr. Kim has been engaged with UNITE HERE and has made sure to maintain a strong working relationship with the Union,” said D Taylor, UNITE HERE International President. “We know by his actions that he understands the issues that matter to organized labor and has been constructive in his approach, and as a result we support this transaction.”
“Over the years, Mr. Kim has also been proactive in engaging with Local 399, and he has made sure to maintain a strong working relationship with our union,” said Patrick J Kelly, President and Business Manager for International Union of Operating Engineers Local 399. “Additionally, Mr. Kim has been constructive in his approach to labor relations, and based upon his prior actions, we believe that he understands the core issues that matter to organized labor. Based on all of the foregoing, it is our opinion that Standard General will continue to bring its cooperative approach with organized labor to its other portfolio companies, including but not limited to, Tegna.”
