Newsmax’s lengthy campaign against the Nexstar-Tegna TV station merger continued in a Feb. 9 article:
A new national survey of Republican primary voters finds overwhelming opposition to the proposed Nexstar–Tegna merger and deep resistance to further consolidation of television stations under large corporate ownership.
The poll, conducted by Public Opinion Strategies, found base Republican voters place a high value on local television news and strongly prefer locally owned stations.
The poll also indicated these voters fear large media mergers as a threat to fair debate, local coverage, and consumer costs.
[…]The poll results show broad GOP opposition to the proposed Nexstar–Tegna $6.2 billion deal, which, if approved, would give the combined company an unprecedented 80% reach of U.S. households through control over 244 television stations across 44 states.
The merged Nexstar would also own more stations than ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox combined – far outstripping the congressionally mandated ownership cap of 39% of U.S. households.
Republican voters also expressed deep concerns over Nexstar, a decidedly liberal and pro-Democratic company, having such reach.
But did Newsmax pay for the poll it’s promoting here? Seems that way. Broadband Breakfast reports:
Merger: Did President Trump ditch his base in calling for regulatory approval of the Nexstar-TEGNA merger? A new poll – apparently commissioned by merger foe Newsmax – found Republican primary voters were strongly opposed to the $6.2 billion deal that involves Nexstar’s acquisition of 64 TEGNA stations across 51 markets. The poll, conducted by Public Opinion Strategies, also found Republican voters placed high value on local television news and preferred stations that are locally owned. Nexstar, based in Irving, Texas, did not comment. “The poll also indicated these voters fear large media mergers as a threat to fair debate, local coverage, and consumer costs,” Newsmax said in a story about the poll that it posted to its news website.
The article went on to describe Nexstar’s NewsNation as a “liberal news channel,” despite the fact that it’s not.