A handful of senior-level TEGNA executives have departed the company as the local television broadcaster continues to operate as a subsidiary of Nexstar Media Group, according to a report published on Thursday.
The report, published by The Wrap, said Chief Financial Officer Julie Heskett, Chief Strategy Officer Ed Busby and Chief Experience Officer Dhanusha Sivajee were among those who left TEGNA in recent days.
Their departure comes after TEGNA’s Chief Executive Officer Michael Steib left the company following Nexstar’s acquisition of the broadcaster, its local stations and digital and advertising businesses. Earlier this week, TEGNA announced former In court, FCC accused of running out clock on Nexstar-TEGNA challenge, reporting to TEGNA’s Board of Directors, which is operating separate of Nexstar while an antitrust lawsuit plays out in federal court.
In a statement on Thursday, a Nexstar spokesperson expressed gratitude toward the departing executives, confirming they opted to step away from the company and were not otherwise dismissed.
“We’re grateful to the departing TEGNA leaders, who have chosen to resign from their roles, for their dedication and service to the company, its local television stations, and the communities they serve,” the spokesperson said via e-mail. “Their contributions helped strengthen local journalism at a critical moment for our industry, as broadcasters face a dramatically changed media landscape dominated by trillion-dollar streaming platforms and Big Tech. The Nexstar-TEGNA merger is about building on that work — ensuring local stations have the scale, investment and resources needed to preserve trusted local journalism and successfully compete in the future.”
Nexstar acquired TEGNA in March, just a few hours after regulators at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) approved the deal. The acquisition came less than 24 hours after several states attorney general and DIRECTV filed separate but related lawsuits in federal court, arguing that the deal violated antitrust laws.
Nexstar contends that the deal secured all needed approvals after a lengthy period of scrutiny. Ordinarily, a deal of that size would be blocked under a federal law that prohibits one broadcaster from owning local TV stations that reach more than 39 percent of the American viewing audience, but the FCC granted waivers to the ownership rule in each market where TEGNA and Nexstar own local TV stations.
It wasn’t clear to what extent regulators at the Justice Department weighed the deal, or whether they took into account possible violations of antitrust law.
