Tana Weingartner

In a filing, Baltimore-based Sinclair says it's bought an 8.2 percent stake in Scripps and that a merger could be done within a year.

Cincinnati media reporter John Keysweater, however, notes Scripps issued a statement saying it would take steps to protect the company from the opportunistic actions of Sinclair or anyone else.

The FCC is already mulling a multi-billion dollar deal by the nation's largest TV station owner, Nextar, to take over its competitor, Tegna.

For NPR News, I'm Tana Weingartner in Cincinnati.