Don’t let government regulators kill local media

One of the dumbest antitrust lawsuits in recent memory — and that’s saying a lot — is the blockage of Nexstar Media Group’s $6 billion bid to acquire local news broadcaster TEGNA. The merger was approved three months ago by the antitrust cops at the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission. President Donald Trump has given the deal his blessing.

But now, a federal judge, along with 13 state attorneys general, is doing the bidding of rival broadcasting powerhouse DirecTV and other media giants to stall the deal in court.