DAYTON, OHIO — On Monday, Sept. 23, 2019, the Third Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals remanded — and erased — rule changes enact by the FCC under Chairman Ajit Pai that had said goodbye to 44-year-old cross-ownership restrictions in a given market.
The move put Cox Media Group in a quandry, as it moved forward with its acquisition by Apollo Global Management and subsequent loss of grandfathered ownership status of a daily newspaper, a TV station, and radio stations in the Dayton-Springfield market.
Many worries were expressed about a decision by CMG to cut daily circulation of its three newspapers in the Dayton DMA impacted by the Third Circuit remand. The Mayor of Dayton and a former FCC Commissioner voiced their opinions in a USA TODAY editorial slamming the Commission for approving the CMG/Apollo deal for its negative impact on daily newspapers in the market.
Now, it has a solution: Keeping the newspapers in the family, but under a wholly different ownership group — allowing the publications to retain their everyday appearance.
