Preserve local journalism by holding Big Tech accountable

Now is the time for the Senate to pass the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, requiring platforms like Facebook and Google to pay fairly for news content.

David Chavern| Opinion contributor

Microsoft pushes Congress toward new media laws

Microsoft's President Brad Smith tells Congress it endorses the Journalism Competition and Protection Act (JCPA), that would give news organizations the ability to negotiate collectively, with Microsoft and other tech giants. (March 12)

AP

Local journalism is a cornerstone of democracy and a vital source of information for communities across the country, with newsrooms covering local politics, high school sports, local business openings, cultural eventsand other matters that help a community remain vibrant and connected. But the industry is facing an existential crisis because of the unyielding power of Big Tech platforms such as Google and Facebook.

With not that much timeleft in this Congress, now is the time for the Senate to pass the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act. The JCPA was reported out of committee on Sept.22 with strong bipartisan support and now must head to the floor for a vote. The JCPA would hold tech giants accountable and provide a necessary lifeline for local newspapers, requiring Big Tech to compensate small and local outlets for the use of their content.

Big Tech benefits tremendously from journalism content, yet they refuse to pay local publishers fairly for the journalistic content that fuels their platforms. As a result, local papers are being replaced by tech platforms using black box algorithms designed to keep users inside their walled gardens, all while charging exorbitant ad fees up to 70% of every advertising dollar.

Since 2000, U.S. newspaper circulation has dropped by half, with more than 31 million fewer daily newspapers in circulation in 2020. The vast majority of U.S. counties with no regular newspaper "news deserts" are in rural areas. Despite record audiences, revenue has drastically declined since news outlets transitioned to digital.

And as local publications struggle to stay afloat, Big Tech has only doubled down, further consolidating their control over the flow of information.

Our View: Local newspapers are shrinking or disappearing. Congress must act.

This is fundamentally unfair, and the JCPA wouldbring about much-needed change.

The JCPA wouldbenefit small and local publishers exclusively and impose severe penalties if the tech platforms do not negotiate in good faith. The bill has a limited scope of four years to address a broken marketplace, while the broader competitive landscape is fixed through other legislation and the courts.

The JCPA also would incentivizepublishers to hire more journalists and protectour constitutional freedoms of speech and the press. The bills scope is limited to compensation and does not allow for negotiations around up/down ranking or display it serves only to ensure fair compensation for local news outlets. The JCPA has strict transparency requirements on the terms of each agreement reached between tech platforms and journalism providers and establishes clarity in how news outlets spend any funds they receive.

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Australia passed a similar policy to the JCPA, the news media bargaining code, for media organizations to bargain for payment, which has produced significant revenue (billions of dollars, if translated to the U.S. market) for hundreds of publications of all sizes.One Sydney journalism professor noted that she hadnt seen her industry so financially robust in decades. There are so many open positions for reporters, they cannot all be filled, a signal of the improved economic health of the industry.

The swift and clear successes of the Australian code and efforts in other countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, European Unionand more should serve to encourage the passage of the JCPA.

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Thousands of hometown newspapers from across the political spectrum, as well as both Democrats and Republicans in Congress, support the JCPA. Moreover,in these highly polarized times, polling data found that 70% of Americans support the JCPA. It has such broad support because, ultimately, it is about basic fairness.

Local newspapers cannot afford several more years of Big Techs use and abuse, and time to take action is dwindling. If Congress does not act soon, we risk allowing social media to become Americas de facto local newspaper.

The Senate must advance the JCPAfor a vote before the end of the year to rein in Big Tech and restore fairness to local journalism one of the most important checks and balances we have against corporate power and government corruption before its too late.

David Chavern ispresident and chief executive of theNews/Media Alliance.

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Preserve local journalism by holding Big Tech accountable