Standard General is Tegna’s largest shareholder and after they asked Tegan’s leadership to conduct an independent investigation into the diversity issues that seemed to keep popping up, Tegna’s leadership refused.

So, Standard General conducted its own independent investigation.

Standard General’s head Soo Kim sent this letter to Tegna shareholders:

Dear Fellow TEGNA Shareholders,

After an incident of racial insensitivity involving the CEO of TEGNA, which was reported by the Wall Street Journal, Standard General called for the Board to conduct an independent investigation. 

They did not.

In the weeks that followed the article, Standard General received numerous letters from individuals who have worked at TEGNA and suffered from racism and discrimination over a number of years.  Simple Google searches unveil issues of discrimination from the top to the bottom – from current board members down to the station-level.  We asked TEGNA to conduct an independent investigation into these matters and provide records on what the Company has done to address these issues. 

They did not – instead TEGNA offered Standard General access to a limited number of documents conditioned upon Standard General signing an NDA.

TEGNA portrays these DE&I issues as having been resolved – in a letter to shareholders addressing the CEO's racial insensitivity, Howard Elias (Chairman of the TEGNA board) said he was "proud of these steps in which TEGNA has shown leadership" with regards to the Company's DE&I initiatives.  Mr. Elias makes this claim despite his own internal investigation consisting of just one independent interview.

The Company's employees, the communities it operates in, and its shareholders deserve better.

In response to this lack of action, Standard General commissioned a leading investigative firm, Quest Research and Investigations (QRI), to conduct an independent study into the various reported allegations of discrimination at TEGNA.  We have released it here.

We are research-intensive investors that conduct our own extensive due diligence and do not solely rely on management representations.  But, it is a shame that TEGNA's largest active shareholder has had to do the job of its board and management team.  We hope this report will enable shareholders to make an informed choice on the future direction of the Company.

Best Regards,
Soo Kim
Founding Partner
Standard General L.P.