Internal Memo to the Tribune Employees

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FTVLive has obtained the memo sent out to the Tribune employees in regards to the sale of their stations to Sinclair. 

Here's the memo:

From: Peter Kern
Sent: Tuesday, April 24,2018 2:06 PM
Subject: Sinclair Update
 
Today Sinclair Broadcast Group filed additional paperwork with the FCC, laying out their intentions regarding TV station sales as part of the ongoing process of obtaining regulatory approval for our merger.  Their filing spells out Sinclair’s plan to sell 23 stations in 18 markets and, in many cases, identifies the specific buyers of those stations.  Importantly, the actions outlined in today’s filing are designed to bring our proposed merger into compliance with the FCC’s broadcast ownership rules and pave the way for regulatory approval.
 
I have attached the press release Sinclair issued earlier today summarizing the filing; please take a moment to read it.  I want to highlight a few points contained in the new filing:
 
·         WPIX-TV in New York City will remain with Sinclair following the close of the transaction;

·         Along with the sales outlined in Sinclair’s February filing with the FCC, today’s filing adds our TV stations in Denver, Sacramento, Cleveland, Dallas, Houston and Miami to the list of stations that will be sold.  Buyers have yet to be announced for these markets;

·         In a number of markets where our operations overlap, Sinclair is opting to sell one of the TV stations it currently owns rather than the Tribune Media-owned TV station.  Markets where this is occurring in whole or in part include Seattle, Salt Lake, Oklahoma City, Greensboro, Richmond, Wilkes Barre, and Des Moines.

 
We've known for nearly a year that change was coming, but as I've said before, there is no reason to assume that this change won’t be for the better.  Whether your parent company is Sinclair or any of the other media companies identified in today’s filing, you are the key ingredient to their ultimate success.  Each of them will have their own unique opportunities and challenges, but each needs talented, experienced and dedicated employees like you.
 
So try to focus, as you have always done, on the business at hand—delivering outstanding local journalism and great content for our audiences and communities, collaborating with your colleagues, and driving results for our customers.
 
I know this has been a long and at times frustrating process for you; and we still are not yet at the finish line.  I am sure many of you have questions, and we will do what we can to answer those that we can.  While today's filing helps clarify some things, we don't yet have clarity on everything and in fact, there are still many issues we cannot discuss with Sinclair or these other buyers.  But we hope that today’s filing will now lay out a clear path to completing this transaction and as we get closer, we expect to be able to give you greater clarity on the issues that are most important to you personally.
 
Thank you for your understanding and patience over the last 11 months.  I promise to keep you updated as we move forward and can share more information.
 
Best,
Peter