Media Council Hawaii today asked the Federal Communications Commission to put a halt to the merger of news and business operations between television stations KGMB9, KHNL and K5.

In a formal complaint, the council asked the FCC to put an immediate halt to the deal, in which the stations will merge newsrooms, simulcast some news programs and cut about a third of their staff.
The so-called shared services agreement will result in the terminations of all but four of KHNL’s on-air staff as well as a number of KGMB's technical and newsroom employees.
“Reduced competition in local news will mean less local coverage, less diversity in the viewpoints presented and lower quality news programming,” the complaint said.
Raycom Media, which owns KHNL and K5, has said that the deal doesn't require regulatory approval because there's no change of ownership and the licenses of the stations aren't being transferred. KGMB is owned by MCG Capital Corp. of Virginia.
“The arrangements we are entering into with MCG comply with the law are not unusual do not require FCC approval, have been vetted by FCC counsel and will enable local service to be preserved and strengthened,” said John Fink, KHNL’s general manager.