Company Eyes Media Monopoly in South Bend

One of the most damaging media consolidation deals in the country is quietly underway in Indiana’s fourth largest city – South Bend.

But local activists and Free Press are making noise, attempting to stop a single company, Schurz Communications, from swiping more than its fair share of media outlets — and setting a dangerous precedent for the rest of the country.

Currently, Schurz already owns the following media properties in South Bend:

•    South Bend Tribune (the local daily newspaper)
•    WSBT-TV (the local CBS affiliate)
•    WSBT-AM (the only local news radio station)
•    WNSN FM

Schurz wants to purchase these TV stations in South Bend from Weigel Broadcasting:

•    WBND-LP (the local ABC affiliate)
•    WCWW-LP (the local CW affiliate)
•    WMYS-LP (the local MyNetworkTV affiliate)

In case the math is a little fuzzy, here’s what Schurz will own when the dust settles: four of the six local network TV affiliates, the daily newspaper, the only news radio station, and the second-ranked FM radio station. This means a single company will own four of the six commercial news producing outlets in the entire South Bend market. Schurz would be the Murdoch of the Indiana-Michigan border.

Schurz Communications has been fighting back, pointing to their record of public service to assuage the fears of a media monopoly. But no matter the owner or their “harmless” intentions, consolidation on this scale puts diverse viewpoints and independent news at risk. Nobody should have such immense media power in a single community.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 24th, 2008 at 2:09 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.