Chicago Tribune

[Commentary] It's hard to know what is sadder — that the Tribune’s Editorial Board believes that cat videos are the best thing about the internet or that it picks the interests of fat-cat internet service providers over its readers. Net neutrality is not “a new concept promulgated by the Obama administration,” but a consumer protection concern that dates back at least as far as the George W. Bush administration when then-Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell outlined four “internet freedoms”:

American democracy is fragile, and unless care is taken it could follow the path of Nazi Germany in the 1930s. That was the somewhat jaw-dropping bottom line of Barack Obama in a Q&A session before the Economic Club of Chicago, the Chicagoan who used to be president dropped a bit of red meat to a hometown crowd that likely is a lot closer to him than the man whose name never was mentioned: President Donald Trump. The US has survived tough times before and will again, he noted, particularly mentioning the days of communist fighter Joseph McCarthy and former President Richard Nixon.

[Commentary] Like all major government efforts to deregulate industries, from telephones to airlines, the Federal Communications Commission’s move to do away with net neutrality is destined to have a major impact. We think consumers will benefit because increased competition is a greater spur to technological innovation than government fiat.

Sinclair Broadcast Group has agreed to buy Tribune Media in a cash and stock deal valued at $3.9 billion. Sinclair will acquire Chicago (IL)-based Tribune Media's 42 television stations and other assets, making the largest station owner in the country even bigger, pending approval from the Federal Communications Commission and federal antitrust regulators. Under the terms of the deal, Baltimore (MD)-based Sinclair will pay $43.50 a share for Tribune Media and will assume approximately $2.7 billion in net debt.

The combined company will become a TV broadcasting behemoth, owning and operating 233 television stations in 108 markets, pending any required divestitures by the FCC. Sinclair owns and operates stations in 81 markets, including Washington (DC), Seattle (WA), St. Louis (MO), Minneapolis (MN), Pittsburgh (PA), and Milwaukee (WI). Its holdings include 54 Fox affiliates, the most of any station group owner. A Chicago broadcasting pioneer, Tribune Media owns WGN-Ch.9 in Chicago, KTLA-TV in Los Angeles and WPIX-TV in New York, a portfolio that was bolstered by the December 2013 acquisition of Local TV's 19-station group for $2.73 billion.

Tribune Publishing has set Aug 4 as the target date for spinning off from Tribune, according to sources familiar with the situation.

The spinoff date was included in a presentation for lenders conducted by Tribune Publishing June 17 in New York, according to sources.

Tribune Publishing is seeking to raise $350 million in conjunction with its planned spinoff from Tribune Co. In an amendment filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Tribune Publishing said it will carry $350 million of debt as a stand-alone company, $25 million higher than previously stated. That figure includes a $275 million cash dividend payable to Tribune Co.

The spinoff date will be included in an upcoming amendment. While the Aug. 4 target date may change, the spinoff is unlikely to occur before then, according to sources.

Almost 1 out of 5 drivers in Chicago are likely violating the city's nine-year-old ban on using hand-held cellphones while behind the wheel, according to a state study that prompts questions about whether a new and stricter Illinois law will reduce accidents caused by distracted driving.

Chicago had the state's highest rate of drivers visibly using electronic devices to either talk on the phone or send or read text messages, according to the statewide study conducted by the Illinois Department of Transportation.

"The survey really told us a lot about what is going on every day,'' said John Webber, IDOT's communications director and the department's former interim director of traffic safety. The observational survey of more than 33,000 drivers was done on busy state highways, local roads and residential streets, officials said.