{"id":504196,"date":"2022-10-27T02:17:32","date_gmt":"2022-10-26T23:17:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/nancy-pelosi-attacks-media-merger-after-big-campaign-donation\/"},"modified":"2022-10-27T02:17:32","modified_gmt":"2022-10-26T23:17:32","slug":"nancy-pelosi-attacks-media-merger-after-big-campaign-donation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/nancy-pelosi-attacks-media-merger-after-big-campaign-donation\/","title":{"rendered":"#Nancy Pelosi attacks media merger after big campaign donation"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3b9ac30843b\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3b9ac30843b\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/nancy-pelosi-attacks-media-merger-after-big-campaign-donation\/#%E2%80%9CNancy_Pelosi_attacks_media_merger_after_big_campaign_donation%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Nancy Pelosi attacks media merger after big campaign donation&#8221;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CNancy_Pelosi_attacks_media_merger_after_big_campaign_donation%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Nancy Pelosi attacks media merger after big campaign donation&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Nancy Pelosi is creating static over a deal to take a massive group of TV stations private \u2014 after she and fellow House Democrats got more than $500,000 in campaign donations from Byron Allen, a co<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>n-turned-media mogul who wants to block the deal.<\/p>\n<p>The House Speaker <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.speaker.gov\/newsroom\/10622\">sent an Oct. 6 letter to FCC Chairwoman <\/a>Jessica Rosenworcel expressing \u201cserious concerns\u201d about an agreement by Tegna \u2014\u00a0a publicly traded chain of 64 local TV stations that was spun off from <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a>paper giant Gannett\u00a0in 2015  \u2014 to sell itself to the hedge fund Standard <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">General<\/a> for $8.6 billion.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Federal Election Commission filings show that in the fourth quarter of last year Pelosi got $271,300 in campaign donations from Allen, who owns a group of cable-TV networks including The Weather Channel and is angling to nab Tegna\u2019s nationwide broadcasting empire to widen their distribution. <\/p>\n<p>During the same quarter, Allen \u2014 who earlier this month made headlines for <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/malibu-mansion-sells-for-100-million-to-billionaire-media-mogul-11665360940\">buying a $100 million estate in Malibu, Calif.<\/a> \u2014 also donated $275,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which backs Democratic candidates for the House, FEC filings show.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Pelosi-money.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"nancy pelosi illustration\" class=\"wp-image-24417453\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Pelosi-money.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Pelosi-money.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Pelosi-money.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Nancy Pelosi is against a tv media merger \u2014 after getting a big doantion.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"883\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/nancy-pelosi-stopping-merger-for-donor-2.jpg?w=883\" alt=\"Byron Allen\" class=\"wp-image-24413618\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/nancy-pelosi-stopping-merger-for-donor-2.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1766 1766w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/nancy-pelosi-stopping-merger-for-donor-2.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1324 1324w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/nancy-pelosi-stopping-merger-for-donor-2.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=883 883w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/nancy-pelosi-stopping-merger-for-donor-2.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=441 441w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/nancy-pelosi-stopping-merger-for-donor-2.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 883px) 100vw, 883px\"\/><figcaption>Allen, who owns a group of cable-TV networks including The Weather Channel, is angling to nab Tegna\u2019s nationwide broadcasting empire to widen their distribution.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Getty Images for Culture Creator<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cIf she is helping out a major donor it doesn\u2019t look good, quite frankly,\u201d said Craig Holman, the Capitol Hill lobbyist for advocacy group Public Citizen who says he has worked on ethics issues with Pelosi for 20 years. \u201cWhen it comes to campaign finance, this is often how it works. A donor gives money with the expectation of some return.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pelosi\u2019s Oct. 6 letter came despite the fact there aren\u2019t any Tegna TV stations in her San Francisco congressional district. The donation from Allen was his only on record to Pelosi. Allen cut the checks late last year as his own bid to buy Tegna began to unravel over financing problems, according to sources close to the situation. Tegna agreed to sell itself to Standard General in February.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is legal unless there is an actual agreement between the parties. Then it is a bribe,\u201d Holman told The Post. \u201cBut when there is no obvious agreement, it does not run afoul of the law.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/nancy-pelosi-stopping-merger-for-donor-3.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Tegna sign\" class=\"wp-image-24413635\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/nancy-pelosi-stopping-merger-for-donor-3.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/nancy-pelosi-stopping-merger-for-donor-3.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/nancy-pelosi-stopping-merger-for-donor-3.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Tegna \u2014 a publicly traded chain of 64 local TV stations that was spun off from Gannett in 2015 \u2014 agreed to to sell itself to the hedge fund Standard General for $8.6 billion.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Shutterstock \/ JHVEPhoto<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In the letter, Pelosi, along with Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Frank Pallone Jr., said she was worried the deal would raise cable bills, crimp local news coverage and spur job losses. In a written response to the FCC, Standard General denied plans to diminish local coverage and cut station jobs, calling them speculation and saying it \u201cmade a commitment in the FCC record that it was not planning any such actions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, a source close to Allen\u2019s company, Allen Media Group, said, \u201cByron was going to cut 30% of expenses if he bought Tegna and that meant job losses.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot true,\u201d countered Allen, when reached by The Post on Wednesday. \u201cI have close to 2,300 employees and during the pandemic I did not lay off one worker.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignright\">\n    <\/aside>\n<p>A spokesman for Pelosi, Henry Connelly, declined to comment on Allen\u2019s donations. He said Pelosi and Pallone<em>\u00a0<\/em><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.speaker.gov\/newsroom\/41917\">wrote to the FCC with similar concerns<\/a><em>\u00a0<\/em>in 2017 about Sinclair Broadcasting\u2019s proposal to buy stations from Tribune Broadcasting. That deal, which was scr<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ed a year later, had been controversial over Sinclair\u2019s ties with Donald Trump.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvidently, there are some \u2018legal experts\u2019 who will be surprised to learn that the Speaker of the House of Representatives does in fact routinely weigh in on issues of national importance, not just her own district,\u201d Connelly said in a statement. \u201cDemocrats have long expressed concerns to the FCC about the consolidation of local news outlets raising costs on consumers and hollowing out the local news reporting that is vital to the health of our democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Allen also told The Post his \u201cdonations to numerous Democratic politicians and PACs have nothing to do with Tegna and everything to do with protecting our democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>An FCC spokeswoman said, \u201cUnder longstanding precedent, the Commission does not comment on pending transactions.\u00a0In this case \u2013 as in all cases \u2013 the Commission has a statutory obligation to determine that an assignment or transfer serves the public interest.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Insiders said Pelosi\u2019s machinations may explain why the FCC on Sept. 29 \u2014 a week before she sent her letter \u2014 asked for more information from Standard General and Tegna, pushing the close of its merger investigation at least a few weeks beyond an initial Oct. 18 deadline. Indeed, it\u2019s likely that the House\u2019s Office of Legislative Affairs let the FCC Chairwoman know the letter was coming, according to one lawyer.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/nancy-pelosi-stopping-merger-for-donor-4.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Federal Communications Commission headquarters\" class=\"wp-image-24413670\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/nancy-pelosi-stopping-merger-for-donor-4.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/nancy-pelosi-stopping-merger-for-donor-4.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/nancy-pelosi-stopping-merger-for-donor-4.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Pelosi sent an Oct. 6 letter to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel expressing \u201cserious concerns\u201d about the Tegna deal.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Shutterstock \/ Mark Van Scyoc<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cYou don\u2019t want to surprise an agency head when they are in your own party,\u201d the lawyer said.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not unheard of for powerful politicos to put pressure on FCC commissioners on behalf of big donors, but \u201csince she has no constituent who would be affected, it is unusual,\u201d said Mark Lipp, a partner at law firm Fletcher, Heald &amp; Hildreth who worked at the FCC for 14 years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve seen some commissioners withstand that kind of pressure and seen others buckle,\u201d Lipp said.<\/p>\n<p>The loudest opponents of the Tegna deal, NewsGuild-CWA and the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians-CWA unions, have prodded the FCC for records about why Tegna rejected the Allen bid. The unions\u2019 lawyer is David Goodfriend, who works as a lobbyist for Allen\u2019s Weather Channel, according to the US House of Representative\u2019s Clerk Site.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s sounds like more than a coincidence,\u201d according to Lipp. <\/p>\n<p>The delays have thrown the Tegna deal into jeopardy, insiders say. Some speculate FCC Chairwoman Rosenworcel will simply not bring the $24-a-share deal up for a vote before the four commissioners, exercising what would essentially be a pocket veto. She is under no legal obligation to bring the deal to a vote, sources said.<\/p>\n<p>Investors believe there is a 60% chance the deal happens based on Tegna\u2019s $20.62 closing price on Wednesday. Without a $24-a-share deal, analysts believe the Tegna shares would fall to about $16.50, a trader said.\n                        <\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more News articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/10\/26\/nancy-pelosi-attacks-media-merger-after-big-campaign-donation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Nancy Pelosi attacks media merger after big campaign donation&#8221; Nancy Pelosi is creating static over a deal to take a massive group of TV stations private \u2014 after she and fellow House Democrats got more than $500,000 in campaign donations from Byron Allen, a comedian-turned-media mogul who wants to block the deal. The House Speaker&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":504197,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Pelosi-money.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[134610,72124,71128,75942,54077,70922],"class_list":["post-504196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-10-26-22","tag-cable-tv","tag-campaign-finance","tag-fcc","tag-nancy-pelosi","tag-us-house-of-representatives"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=504196"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504196\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/504197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=504196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=504196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=504196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}