Morning Call Parent Tribune To Buy WNEP, 18 Other TV Stations

Locator map of the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre Metropolitan Statistical Area in the northeastern part of the of . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Tribune Co.‘s $2.73 billion acquisition of 19 television station’s from Local TV Holdings includes a major player in Pennsylvania, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre ABC affiliate WNEP.

The station, a prominent source for local news in the coal region, is among those Tribune is acquiring in a deal announced Monday that would make the Chicago company the largest TV station owner in the United States.

The deal also significantly increases Tribune’s stake in Pennsylvania.  Tribune, which publishes The Morning Call, already owns WPHL in Philadelphia and WPMT in York.  WNEP will expand the reach of the company’s television assets into 21 northeastern Pennsylvania counties, the state’s fourth-largest television market.

That area has a total of 581,020 homes with television viewers, making it the No. 54 market in the country, according to the Nielsen Co.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-tribune-buys-tv-stations-20130701,0,5253381.story#ixzz2XuuiHSK7
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Lehigh Valley Unemployment Rate Lowest In More Than 4 Years

The Lehigh Valley’s unemployment rate dipped below 8 percent in May for the first time in more than four years, another indication that the labor market continues to slowly recover from steep job losses inflicted during the Great Recession.

The Valley region’s unemployment rate in May was 7.9 percent, down from 8.1 percent in April.  It was last below 8 percent in February 2009.  The Valley’s unemployment rate remains higher than the state, 7.5 percent, and nation, 7.6 percent.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/business/mc-lehigh-valley-jobs-may-20130702,0,2579010.story#ixzz2XusnKSrE 
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