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[Video starts with Anne Ryder standing next to a TV studio teleprompter, counting down with her hand and voice, and then silently, for the 2 and the 1. Then the view switches to the reporters, then to Anne seated for an interview speaking directly to the camera and gesturing with her hands. On the screen it says Anne Ryder, Media School Senior Lecturer.]
ANNE: 5, 4, 3... Broadcast news needs to change because the old model is a dinosaur. However, the consolidation of these behemoth media companies, I wish I could say it's going to be good for the product. I don't really believe it will be good.
[The video shows Anne coaching the students in the TV studio at the Media School, and students practicing various roles in the newsroom.]
My name is Anne Ryder and I am a senior lecturer here at The Media School at Indiana University. I'm trying to figure out how can I teach the skills that they're going to need to not only be really good journalists, because God knows we need them now more than we ever have, arguably, but to be able to use those skills to pivot along with the changes that we're going to see.
[Clips of Trump speaking to reporters in the Oval Office; then a view of the front of the White House.]
So, we're seeing massive consolidation because the Trump administration has rolled back almost 100 rules, is my understanding. So the rule about station ownership, what percentage of the market any one company can own, used to be 39%. If this TEGNA deal goes through with Nexstar, Nexstar will have access to 60% of the US population through the stations they own. It homogenizes the news.
[Clip of a CNBC news report, with stock prices for Nexstar Media Group and TEGNA on the screen. On the bottom third, it says “Nexstar to buy TEGNA in $6.23B Deal.”]
[Video switches to a clip from a new program from Kansas TV station, with two news anchors seated behind a desk.]
REPORTER 1: A big deal, announced today, involving our parent company, TEGNA. Nexstar announced plans to acquire TEGNA for 6.2 billion dollars.
REPORTER 2: Yeah. And this deal still needs approval from the FCC and the Department of Justice. And that is expected to take up to a year.
[Video returns to Anne Ryder speaking directly to the camera. Then the logos of TEGNA and Nexstar appear on the screen of a news report from Texas CBS 19. Next a map of the USA showing the locations of dozens of TV stations across the country that would be affected by the acquisition. On the bottom third it reads “Nexstar to buy CBS19’s parent company TEGNA.”]
ANNE: The week that we heard that Nexstar wanted to acquire and was intending to acquire TEGNA, I heard from 9 of my former students within a period of about 3 days. All of them worried about what this means for their jobs. So these corporations call it synergy, and synergy, I think, is just a euphemism for layoffs. I really do think there will be layoffs because the biggest owner of broadcast television stations across the country is looking to acquire the second biggest. It means duopolies and triopolies.
[A screen featuring a quote from Mike Steib, CEO of TEGNA, reads “Nexstar and TEGNA both share a rich heritage of commitment to journalistic excellence and technological advancements. Together, we will expand news coverage to serve more communities, across more screens, and ultimately secure the future of local news for generations to come.” ]
ANNE: So, that means one company would own, potentially -- here in Indianapolis -- 3 of the broadcast stations. So, some of my students who actually landed in the Indianapolis market right out of school are immediately concerned for their jobs. They're not going to need 125 MMJs, you know, among these stations in the market. They're not going to need 7 meteorologists, you know, they're not going to need 3 news directors and 3 general managers. So it's really affecting the employees at every level.
[Video returns to scenes of Anne with her students in the TV studio at The Media School.]
[Video transitions to show Anna Gomez, the FCC Commissioner, testifying at a congressional hearing on December 17, 2025.]
ANNA GOMEZ: The FCC has advanced plans that would allow billion-dollar media companies to grow even larger at the expense of local news and community-driven reporting. This push comes at a time when major media companies are already consolidating across broadcasting, streaming, and content production.
[On screen, students work in the TV studio; then back to the Anne Ryder speaking directly to the camera.]
ANNE RYDER: I'm worried about the political leanings --either way -- of some of these behemoth companies that now will have control of the stations that reach -- in Nexstar's case -- 60% of the US population. One owner -- ONE OWNER -- all across the country. It's alarming.
[Collage of images from many different news anchors and talking heads from stations from all over the US filling the screen.]
[Video transitions to a student standing on a box reading the news off a teleprompter in The Media School studio. Anne Ryder is working the camera. A screen on the wall behind the student reads “IU NewsNet Sports”]
STUDENT REPORTER: Last Saturday, the Hoosiers hosted Kennesaw State, and it was pure domination.
[Video focuses on various students in Anne Ryder’s class -- doing the news, being reporters, looking professional on camera, and working in the news studio while Anne speaks. Anne also speaks directly to the camera, gesturing and emphasizing with her hands, especially on the word ‘local.’]
ANNE: One thing, though, I do want to say is that broadcast news needs to change. We're all kind of trying to read the tea leaves and figure out, where is this going? I think we're going to see the need for hyperlocal reporting. And by that, I mean you become the best at your beat. Legislatures are going to be the center of power and change for a while. If you've got great contacts, if you're getting great content about all these changes that are happening at the state level, I think there's going to be a place for you. I think we're going to see more in the line of, and I hate this word -- I'm sure there are better words -- but news influencers. So, these are going to be really good journalists that are their own one-man band, and that includes creating their own social platform, getting their own sponsors, that kind of thing. I'm hoping that good, robust journalism stays good and robust.
[Words on a screen appear: A project of The Media School at Indiana University. Produced by Jack Bassett.]
[END OF TRANSCRIPT]
Consolidation of news organizations into fewer, larger companies is changing the news landscape in Indiana, particularly for commercial television stations. Across multiple markets in the state, a single company often owns more than one television station, sometimes operating multiple affiliates from the same facility with shared staff and resources.
While ownership consolidation can help stations remain financially viable, it can also limit the amount of innovative, original journalism produced in the state. And media consolidations are likely to increase in the coming years as deregulation allows more mergers to take place.
A $6.2 billion deal recently approved by the FCC will allow Nexstar Media Group, already the largest owner of broadcast television stations in the country, to merge with Tegna Inc., resulting in one company serving 54 percent of the U.S. broadcast news audience. Meanwhile, Tegna has already been in talks to merge with Sinclair Broadcast Group, the second-largest owner of broadcast television stations.
Anne Ryder is a lecturer in the Media School at Indiana University who spent 30 years working in broadcast news in Indiana, most visibly as an anchor for WTHR, the NBC affiliate in Indianapolis. She believes change must happen for broadcast news – but it comes at a price.
“News needs to change because the old model is a dinosaur,” Ryder said. “However, the consolidation of these behemoth media companies, I wish I could say it’s going to be good for the product. I don’t really believe it will be good.”
In cities such as Indianapolis, Evansville, Fort Wayne, Terre Haute, and South Bend, shared ownership of local television stations has become common. In Indianapolis, for instance, Nexstar Media Group owns both WTTV (CBS 4) and WXIN (FOX 59), operating from the same studio complex. Their newsrooms, production teams, and some on-air personnel overlap, even though each station maintains separate branding.
Evansville shows a similar pattern, with Nexstar owning WEHT (ABC 25) and WTVW (CW 7). Terre Haute’s WTWO (NBC) and WAWV (ABC) are likewise managed under Nexstar. In South Bend, Weigel Broadcasting operates WBND (ABC 57), WCWW (CW 25), and WMYS (MyNetworkTV 69) from a single location, with most of the content generated by the WBND newsroom.
Gray Television is also a major owner in Indiana that recently agreed to purchase 10 additional stations in a $171 million deal. This means that Gray will own both WEVV CBS/FOX and WFIE-TV in Evansville.
Fort Wayne provides another telling example. Gray Television owns WPTA (ABC 21) and its subchannels, which broadcast NBC and MyNetworkTV programming, along with WISE-TV (Channel 33). Although WPTA and WISE are technically separate stations, their news production, staffing, and content largely overlap, meaning much of the market’s television news originates from the same newsroom.
Increased media company consolidation was made possible by federal policy shifts that began with the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Prior to this legislation, the Federal Communications Commission imposed strict limits on how many television or radio stations a single company could own in a single market. The 1996 act relaxed these restrictions, and subsequent regulatory rollbacks allowed companies to use arrangements such as shared services and joint sales agreements to operate multiple stations even in smaller markets.
More recently, in 2025, the so-called “Top Four Prohibition” was struck down by a federal court, allowing a company to own more than one of the top four most-watched television stations in a market. This decision is likely to pave the way for even more ownership consolidation.
“I think competition makes everyone better,” Ryder said. “You’re going to run faster, jump higher. Without that, I’m afraid the news product is going to suffer mightily, and probably be more liable to reflect the political leanings of the corporation that owns all these stations.”
Research supports these concerns. Studies indicate that highly consolidated markets produce less original local reporting and rely more heavily on national or syndicated content. Journalists may engage in self-censorship out of concern for the business interests of their media company or its advertisers.
Deregulation of media ownership may increase profitability, but that goal is primarily met through consolidating resources that may otherwise result in more original reporting.
For Ryder, this means preparing her students to enter what will become an even more competitive marketplace for jobs.
“We’re all kind of trying to read the tea leaves and figure out where this is going,” Ryder said. “I think we’re going to see the need for hyper-local reporting. Legislatures are going to be the center of power and change for a while. So if you’ve got great contacts, if you’re getting great content about all these changes that are happening at the state level, I think there is going to be a place for you.”
