Media Council Hawaiçi said today that it will challenge the merger between KGMB9, KHNL and K5 with the Federal Communications Commission.

The local media watchdog organization said it has retained the the Institute for Public Representation at Georgetown Law in Washington, D.C. to assist in any legal actions or challenges with the FCC.
KGMB9, KHNL and K5 announced last month that they plan to merge newsrooms, simulcast some news programs and cut about a third of their staff.
The council said the deal attempts to avoid regulatory scrutiny and will hurt the consumer.
“This arrangement will reduce diversity of opinion, create canned newscasts, increase advertising rates, strangle independent programming, and raise barriers to any who wish to enter the market," said Chris Conybeare, president of MCH. "These effects are all contrary to public interest and the law.”