Pressure of Truth
The news, with the spin made visible.
Outlet profile

KSDK (St. Louis NBC affiliate)

U.S. center

Owned byNexstar Media Group (via its Tegna subsidiary, acquired March 2026 for $6.2 billion; Tegna operates semi-autonomously due to a federal court injunction issued April 2026 blocking full integration)
FundingCommercial advertising revenue (local and national spot ads, retransmission fees from pay-TV providers); no public or government funding
On the administrationmostly neutral

Background

KSDK signed on February 8, 1947, as KSD-TV, owned by the Pulitzer Publishing Company (publishers of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch), making it the first television station in Missouri and one of the first ten in the United States. In 1979, after Pulitzer sold its radio properties, the TV station rebranded as KSDK. Pulitzer traded the station to Multimedia Inc. in 1983 in a rare inter-company station swap, and Multimedia was then absorbed by Gannett in 1995. When Gannett split its print and broadcast operations in 2015, the broadcast side became Tegna Inc., which retained KSDK. The station rebranded its news operation as '5 On Your Side' in 2017, emphasizing consumer and investigative journalism. Nexstar Media Group announced its acquisition of Tegna in August 2025 and closed the $6.2 billion deal on March 19, 2026, making KSDK part of a group that also owns St. Louis Fox affiliate KTVI and CW station KPLR-TV — though a preliminary injunction issued by a federal court in April 2026 (stemming from a lawsuit by DirecTV and multiple state attorneys general) has prevented full integration. KSDK has earned numerous regional and national Edward R. Murrow and Emmy awards, including recognition for its 'Voices of Ferguson' special covering the legacy of the 2014 Ferguson protests.

Sources

  1. KSDK – Wikipedia
  2. KSDK – St. Louis News – Bias and Credibility (Media Bias/Fact Check)
  3. Nexstar closes $6.2 billion acquisition of KSDK parent TEGNA – KSDK.com
  4. Nexstar Media Group, Inc., Closes Acquisition of TEGNA Inc.
  5. Merger of Nexstar Media Group and Tegna Inc. – Wikipedia
  6. Nexstar-Tegna Merger Frozen By Judge's Preliminary Injunction – Deadline
  7. Three St. Louis TV stations now under same umbrella after FCC $6.2B merger – STLPR
  8. 5 On Your Side and its place in St. Louis history – KSDK.com
  9. 5 On Your Side honored with Regional Murrow Awards – KSDK.com

Profile compiled 2026-07-15; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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