{"id":69663,"date":"2026-04-18T14:11:40","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T21:11:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=69663"},"modified":"2026-04-18T14:11:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T21:11:40","slug":"trump-backed-media-merger-blocked-by-federal-court-ruling-that-it-would-violate-antitrust-laws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=69663","title":{"rendered":"Trump-Backed Media Merger Blocked By Federal Court, Ruling that it Would Violate Antitrust Laws"},"content":{"rendered":"

The consolidation of giant media conglomerates has produced a handful of monopolistic corporations that are mostly run by right-wing billionaires. Oligarchs like Rupert Murdoch and David Ellison wield enormous influence while sucking up to their White House benefactor, Donald Trump, for regulatory favors.<\/p>\n

Click here to post this article on Twitter<\/a> or Click here to post on Bluesky<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Donald<\/p>\n

Among the recent mergers on the media’s calendar is one between two television station groups that each own dozens of stations nationwide. Nexstar and Tegna agreed to merge earlier this year after getting a rubber stamp approval by the Trump administration, with Trump’s personal assistance. It’s the sort of totalitarian domination that dictators like Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un enjoy, and that Trump envies and seeks to emulate.<\/p>\n

SEE THIS: Trump Brags About Getting Fascist Control of the Media in Bonkers Truth Social Post<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

However, the Nexstar-Tegna merger that Trump sought to steamroll into place has run into some turbulence. A group of state Attorneys General filed a lawsuit to quash the merger, and they have just received a favorable court ruling that stops it in its tracks. As reported by NPR<\/a><\/strong>…<\/p>\n

“A federal judge has blocked local TV giant Nexstar’s takeover of a leading rival, Tegna, until an antitrust trial plays out. If Nexstar loses, it could be compelled to unwind the $6.2 billion deal, in which it absorbed 65 additional stations.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

NPR elaborated saying that if the merger were to go through, Nexstar would wind up owning…<\/p>\n

“…265 local stations in 44 states and the District of Columbia, reaching 80% of the nation’s households. Those are all unprecedented figures. Federal competition law limits companies to less than half that level [39%].”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The prospect of yet another massive megalith controlling that much of the mediasphere is more than a little troubling to anyone who cherishes the free press. Particularly if the merger is in violation of the law. And there is no mistaking Nexstar’s political leanings. They were the first station group to take Jimmy Kimmel off the air after he made a couple of harmless jokes about news coverage of Charlie Kirk.<\/p>\n

For his part, Trump weighed in on both sides of the merger debate. On November 23, 2025, he posted a comment<\/a><\/strong> expressing his opposition to the merger on his failing Twitter ripoff, Truth Social<\/a><\/strong>, saying “If this would also allow the Radical Left Networks to \u201cenlarge,\u201d I would not be happy…If anything, make them SMALLER!”<\/em> But more recently, on February 7, 2026, he posted a supportive comment<\/a><\/strong> saying “We need more competition against THE ENEMY, the Fake News National TV Networks.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Trump’s waffling on the merger is typical of his inability to form a coherent position on anything. He often just rides with whatever he was told last by one of his flunkies. In this case he also chose to fulfill the wishes of arch-conservative moguls who have funneled funds into his various scams.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, state AGs are also closely examining Paramount\u2019s pending acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, which includes CNN. Hopefully that will be the next monopolistic mega-merger to collapse.<\/p>\n

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