Honolulu Advertiser
When the owners of KGMB9, KHNL and K5 television stations launched Hawaii News Now in October, they characterized the deal as a newsroom merger and not as an ownership change.
But documents filed with the Federal Communications Commission indicate Raycom Media Inc., which owned KHNL and K5 before the deal, now controls virtually all of the operational aspects of the three stations. Critics say that violates federal laws that bar one company from owning multiple television stations in a single market.
Records obtained by The Advertiser under a Freedom of Information Act request with the FCC show that Raycom is receiving more than 90 percent of the cash flow generated by all three stations, which exceeds thresholds previously allowed by the FCC in mergers. More…