WASHINGTON — Chicago financier Sam Zell made the rounds on Capitol Hill this week, drumming up support for a buyout of Tribune Co. in an effort to pressure federal regulators to grant waivers necessary to own both newspapers and TV stations in Los Angeles and four other cities.
The lobbying trip came as the public comment period for Tribune's waiver requests ended Monday. The requests have drawn opposition from several groups, including the United Church of Christ, the Consumer Federation of America and the Teamsters, which represents about 2,000 company workers.
The $8.2-billion, Zell-led deal is controversial because the Federal Communications Commission has been asked to exempt the company from rules prohibiting the holding of a newspaper and TV station in the same market.
Tribune needs waivers in Los Angeles, where it owns The Times and KTLA-TV Channel 5, as well as in Chicago, New York, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Hartford, Conn. Tribune Chairman and Chief Executive Dennis J. FitzSimons lobbied all five FCC commissioners last month.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, Zell and FitzSimons focused on House and Senate leaders. Congress has no direct say in the waiver decision. But pressure from lawmakers could push the FCC to act quickly, and tacit approval of Democratic congressional leaders could signal that commissioners would face little blowback for granting the waivers.
Democrats generally oppose media consolidation, but Chicago-based Tribune Co. is helped by the prominence of two Illinois lawmakers in the Democratic-controlled Congress. Sen. Richard J. Durbin is the second-ranking Democrat in the Senate and Rep. Rahm Emanuel is the House Democratic caucus chairman.
Last month, Durbin, Emanuel and 12 Illinois House members wrote to FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin, urging quick action. On Tuesday, Durbin reiterated that message and said he had encountered no problems with the company's ownership of both the Chicago Tribune and WGN-TV in Chicago.
"I don't find any kind of monopoly power being pushed into the market, and I think most people in the market feel ... that they're good sources of news," Durbin told the Tribune after a meeting Tuesday with Zell and FitzSimons that also included Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Sen. Charles S. Schumer (D-N.Y.).
"So from my point of view, I personally hope the situation continues ... but at a minimum, they are entitled to a prompt decision by the FCC so they can move forward with this important deal," Durbin said.
