Honolulu Star-Bulletin
Media Council Hawaii will challenge the shared services agreement between KGMB-TV and KHNL/KFVE-TV with the Federal Communications Commission and is inviting public comment at upcoming forums.
The council has retained the Washington D.C.-based Institute for Public Representation at the Georgetown University Law Center to fight the plan by the stations’ owners, Alabama-based Raycom Media Inc. and Virginia-based MCG Capital Corp.
The agreement will have KGMB move in to KHNL/KFVE facilities, merge news and other operations while advertising functions remain separate–and it has started a cascade of layoffs of high-profile on-camera personnel as well as behind-the-scenes employees, including nearly all videographers in KHNL‘s news department.
Should the agreement reach fruition, Raycom will control CBS affiliate KGMB as well as NBC affiliate KHNL and will operate MCG-owned KFVE, an independent station. More…