Tribune expected to seek FCC waivers

TRIBUNE EXPECTED TO SEEK FCC WAIVERS
[SOURCE: Reuters]
Tribune Co. is expected to ask federal regulators to waive restrictions that could prevent it from owning television stations and newspapers in the same city as part of an $8.2-billion deal to go private. Under current FCC rules, a company cannot own a daily newspaper and a television or radio station in the same market although many media companies do under agency waivers. Tribune has such arrangements in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Hartford, Conn.; Los Angeles, and New York. It has also been allowed to own the Chicago Tribune as well as the WGN television and radio network because it owned the properties before the media ownership rules became law. Tribune will ask for a waiver of the rules until the FCC completes its review of media ownership rules. "We're going to lose grandfathering (rights) when Zell gets control of company, but we remain confident that at the end of the day, cross-ownership relief in the largest markets literally has to be granted," said a Tribune spokesperson.
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