Nexstar-Tribune Deal Makes Fighting Mergers Harder, Critics Say

The FCC’s approval of the Nexstar Media Group-Tribune Media Co. merger broke long-standing protocol that helps public interest groups challenge similar tie-ups, the agency’s Democratic commissioners and advocates say.

A divided Federal Communications Commission blocked consumer group Common Cause from further scrutinizing the deal, saying the group had no legal standing to lodge a formal petition.

The commission voted 3-2 along party lines to approve the merger Sept. 16.

Opponents say the FCC hindered a full debate of a transaction that’s reshaping the broadcast industry and set a bad precedent for future public interest challenges of similar mergers. Tribune officially ...