The NewsGuild-CWA, the largest journalists’ union in the US, is asking the Justice Department’s antitrust division to look into Block Communications’ acquisition of the Pittsburgh City Paper, reported Bloomberg.
“The NewsGuild-CWA urges the Department of Justice to investigate the competitive impact of this attempted consolidation of local news,” Jon Schleuss, president of the NewsGuild of the Communications Workers of America, wrote in a Wednesday letter.
Earlier this year, Block Communications, which already owns the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, struck a deal to buy the weekly newspaper through a subsidiary.
The acquisition will restrict news workers’ mobility, Schleuss wrote. City Paper covered stories that were ignored by the Post-Gazette, he said in an interview.
Read more: US: GateHouse-Gannett newspaper deal clears US antitrust review
Block, whose holdings also include several broadcast stations and broadband and cable providers, previously has bought and closed competitors to its newspapers, Schleuss wrote.
At the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 110 workers have been on strike for three months over health care premiums and Block’s refusal to bargain, Schleuss said in an interview.
Struggles among local news providers continue unabated. The US is losing local newspapers at a rate of two per week, a 2022 Northwestern University study found.
“The existence of pesky, small news outlets, daily or weekly, that cover issues not normally covered by the incumbent media improves the overall quality of news production for the entire local market,” Schleuss wrote.
Featured News
BHP Unveils £31bn Mining Megamerger Proposal with Anglo American
Apr 25, 2024 by
nhoch@pymnts.com
ByteDance Prefers Shutdown Over Sale of TikTok Amid US Ban Threats
Apr 25, 2024 by
CPI
FCC Votes to Restore Net Neutrality Rules
Apr 25, 2024 by
nhoch@pymnts.com
Apple Rejects Spotify’s Updated App Over In-App Pricing Disclosure
Apr 25, 2024 by
CPI
FCC Set to Reinstate Net Neutrality Rules Today
Apr 25, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Economics of Criminal Antitrust
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Navigating Economic Expert Work in Criminal Antitrust Litigation
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
The Increased Importance of Economics in Cartel Cases
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
A Law and Economics Analysis of the Antitrust Treatment of Physician Collective Price Agreements
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Information Exchange In Criminal Antitrust Cases: How Economic Testimony Can Tip The Scales
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI