FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Arlington, VA – Today the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law will hold a hearing at 2:00 p.m. ET, on “Oversight of A.I.: The Future of Journalism,” which will explore the impact of the growth of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) technology on publishers’ ability to provide high-quality journalism and possible oversight mechanisms to help protect and sustain quality journalism.

Witnesses scheduled to testify at the hearing include Danielle Coffey, President & CEO of the News/Media Alliance (written testimony here); Roger Lynch, CEO at Condé Nast (written testimony here); Curtis LeGeyt, President and CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters (written testimony here); and author Jeff Jarvis (written testimony here).

Coffey’s comments before the Subcommittee will explain how Generative AI tools exploit news content to compete directly with publishers, yet need quality journalism to train their systems. Coffey will focus on the copyright infringement implications of how GAI developers train and use their models, as well as the need for legislation, including requiring transparency and responsibility from GAI developers, and passing the Journalism Competition & Preservation Act (JCPA), which would allow publishers to collectively negotiate for fair compensation for use of their content by the dominant tech platforms, such as Meta and Google.

Since generative AI technology took off exponentially last year, the News/Media Alliance has been leading the call for AI companies to seek proper permissions and licensing from publishers for use of their valuable content. Last fall, the Alliance published a White Paper revealing that GAI systems copy massive amounts of publishers’ original works, almost always without authorization or compensation, and publisher content is overweighted in materials used for training these systems. The White Paper and comments the Alliance submitted to the U.S. Copyright Office also explain the legal implications of such use.

In response to the hearing, News/Media Alliance President & CEO, Danielle Coffey stated, “We commend Subcommittee Chair Richard Blumenthal and Ranking Member Josh Hawley and the Senate Judiciary Committee for recognizing the urgent need to address our very serious concerns about the impacts of AI technology on providers of quality journalism, as well as the legal questions this raises. AI companies are scraping our content to compete with it – usually without any compensation to, or permission from the publishers of that content – while they reap all the benefits. This is classic freeriding that infringes publishers’ copyrights and goes far beyond fair use.”

Coffey’s testimony offers multiple suggestions for policymakers, including:

• Recognizing that unauthorized use of publishers’ expressive content for commercial GAI training and development is likely to compete with and harm publisher businesses in a manner that infringes copyright;
• Creating transparency requirements to require the recordkeeping and disclosure of unauthorized training uses of material that is protected by copyright, by technical protection measures, or governed by contractual terms prohibiting scraping; and
• Adopting legislation to remedy existing market imbalances that prevent publishers from engaging in fair negotiations for the use of their content against dominant platforms.

A new report released by the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in November found that the rate of newspaper closures has accelerated, now at 2.5 closures per week (with more than 130 confirmed newspaper closings or mergers in the last year), resulting in the expansion of news deserts, in which communities lack a source of local news.

Coffey concluded, “For years the tech platforms have gotten away with using publishers’ content without appropriate compensation. This problem, having gone unaddressed, has been getting worse and now, AI doubles down on the threat the largest tech platforms pose to publishers’ viability. Countries all over the world are introducing and passing legislation requiring the tech platforms to pay news publishers. The United States cannot fall behind other countries and should pass the JCPA, which will ensure publishers can continue to provide important high-quality journalism we all depend on. We have to act now before it’s too late.”

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Media Contact:
Lindsey Loving
Director, Communications
lindsey@newsmediaalliance.org

The News/Media Alliance is a nonprofit organization representing more than 2,200 news and magazine media organizations and their multiplatform businesses in the United States and globally. Alliance members include print and digital publishers of original journalism. Headquartered just outside Washington, D.C., the association focuses on ensuring the future of journalism through communication, research, advocacy, and innovation. Information about the News/Media Alliance can be found at www.newsmediaalliance.org.

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Arlington, VA – The News/Media Alliance applauds the Canadian government for today’s deal with Google for its payment for the use of valuable news content on its Search platform. The amount negotiated is reported to be $100 million per year, down from the $172 million called for by the Canadian government.

The Canadian government passed legislation (C-18, the Online News Act) earlier this year that requires Big Tech platforms such as Google and Meta to pay news publishers for the use of their content. The Online News Act is due to take effect in December.

“This is a very big win for Canadian news publishers and shows that Google will commit to paying fair market value for quality journalism,” stated News/Media Alliance President & CEO Danielle Coffey. “This proves, yet again, that legislation is the only path to sustained right to payment for the fair market value of our quality content. The U.S. must stand up for our vibrant journalism industry and not fall behind other countries. Big Tech cannot continue to harm local news. Congress must protect our democracy and our constitutional right to a free press by implementing legislation that will help sustain quality journalism in America.”

Canada is the latest in a string of countries around the world that have recognized the need to protect quality journalism and passed legislation requiring the tech platforms to pay news publishers for use of their content, including Australia, the United Kingdom, and the European Union.

The Canada bill and today’s deal build momentum for the California Journalism Preservation Act (CJPA – AB 886, introduced earlier this year by California Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland)) – the goal of which will be discussed at an informational hearing next week – and the federal Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA) (S.1094, reintroduced in March by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and John N. Kennedy (R-LA)) in the U.S. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted favorably in June for the JCPA, which would allow digital journalism providers to collectively negotiate with Google and Facebook for fair compensation for use of their valuable content.

The JCPA has broad support, not only in Congress in both the House and the Senate, but also from over 300 consumer interest groups, unions, conservatives, advocacy groups and third-party organizations that have sent letters of support for the JCPA to the bill sponsors.

The tech platforms are the dominant distributors of news content, reaping tremendous financial benefit without compensation to those who create the content. They also capture the majority of U.S. digital ad revenue, leaving local publishers with little to reinvest in the production of high-quality journalism.

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The News/Media Alliance is a nonprofit organization representing more than 2,200 news and magazine media organizations and their multiplatform businesses in the United States and globally. Alliance members include print and digital publishers of original journalism. Headquartered just outside Washington, D.C., the association focuses on ensuring the future of journalism through communication, research, advocacy, and innovation. Information about the News/Media Alliance can be found at www.newsmediaalliance.org.

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“As I boarded an Amtrak train back home from Washington, D.C. last Thursday morning, leaving a city bracing for a potential (ultimately averted) government shutdown amid a debate checkered with misinformation, the capitol’s dysfunction and discord provided an appropriate backdrop to the urgent mission that had brought me there. The News/Media Alliance, an industry advocate, organized last week’s D.C. trip to push for the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA), a vital bill that needs to pass.” Read more.

The post My Trip to Capitol Hill, and the Desperate Need to Save Newspapers appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

9/28/23: Senator Chuck Grassley/@ChuckGrassley – “Met w Ronald Slechta with The News (Kalona). We talked about the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act + postage price increases.” See post.

9/28/23: Linda Shapley/@LindaShapley –  “This week, I joined journalism advocates, lawmakers, and @newsalliance members from around the country in Washington in support of local journalism. #SaveLocalNews I visited with my @ColoradoPress colleagues … …”  See post.

9/28/23: S.D. Newspaper Association /@SD_Newspapers, 9/28/23 – “Great day on Capitol Hill with colleagues lobbying for local journalism on behalf of all SD newspapers. Thank you to our congressional delegation for their support of quality, local journalism and what it means for our communities and our democracy. @newsalliance #SaveLocalNews”  See post.

• S.D. Newspaper Association /@SD_Newspapers-  Thanks to @RepDustyJohnson for robust discussion about need to protect & support local journalism. David Bordewyk of SDNA, Rep. Johnson, Letti Lister of Black Hills Pioneer, Bill Masterson of Lee Enterprises & Jeremy Waltner of Freeman Courier. @newsalliance #SaveLocalNews See post.
• S.D. Newspaper Association /@SD_Newspapers-  This week, @bhpioneer’s Letti Lister, @freemancourier’s @jeremywaltner and I joined other jounalism advocates and @newsalliance members in D.C. to support local journalism and the http://jcpabill.com Thank you to @SenatorRounds for an excellent meeting and discussion. See post.

9/29/23: Brian Martin/ @briankmartin “Thanks to @SenJohnBarrasso and @SenLummis for taking time this week to meet with #Wyoming journalists about bills pending in Congress that would benefit local businesses and community news organizations. We appreciate your support!” #SaveLocalNews See post.

9/29/23: Tim Kennedy/@tkkennedytim “Our message this week: #SaveLocalNews -Long past due to pass the JCPA. AI developers need to respect copyrights. They must be required to compensate news organizations for harvesting our content.” See post.

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“Peekskill Herald Publisher Regina Clarkin was in Washington, D.C. earlier this week to meet with key Senators and Congressional representatives to advocate for bills and ideas to help save local journalism. Clarkin joined local publisher Adam Stone of Examiner Media along with Emily Sachar and Walter Mullin of The Daily Catch in Red Hook, NY as part of a delegation of some 80 newspaper publishers from across the country. The publishers were invited to Washington by the News Media Alliance, a trade association representing 2,000 newspapers whose members include the largest publishing companies, both newspapers and magazines, in the country.”  Read more.

The post Newspaper Publishers Lobby Congress for Passage of Bill to Protect Local Journalism appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

“Washington Post Live anchor and co-author of The Early 202 Leigh Ann Caldwell speaks with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) about their bipartisan push for the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act and the role of the free press in a democracy. Conversation recorded on Thursday, September 28, 2023.” Watch now.

The post Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Rep. Ken Buck on Bipartisan Efforts to Protect Journalism appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

Image credit: lucky-photographer/iStock / Getty Images Plus via Getty Images

September 26 – 27, 2023 | Washington, D.C.

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Arlington, VA – The Senate Judiciary Committee has favorably voted 14-7 for the bipartisan Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA) (S. 1094), which would allow digital journalism providers to collectively negotiate with Google and Facebook for fair compensation for use of their valuable content. The tech platforms are the dominant distributors of news content, reaping tremendous financial benefit without compensation to those who create the content. They also capture the majority of U.S. digital ad revenue, leaving local publishers with little to reinvest in the production of high-quality journalism.

“For too long, Big Tech has profited from using news content on their platforms, without paying the creators of that content. The JCPA will give small and local publishers a seat at the table and channel critical revenue to them to help sustain the high-quality journalism Americans need and depend on,” said News/Media Alliance President & CEO Danielle Coffey. “We applaud Chairwoman Klobuchar and Senator Kennedy for their enduring commitment to preserving journalism and their ongoing support of the JCPA. We applaud the Senate Judiciary Committee’s passage of this monumental legislation for journalism publishers across our country.”

The JCPA has broad support, not only in Congress in both the House and the Senate (16 co-sponsors in the 118th Congress to date, on both sides of the aisle, with 90 total co-sponsors in the previous Congress), but also from over 300 consumer interest groups, unions, conservatives, advocacy groups and third-party organizations that have sent letters of support for the JCPA to the bill sponsors.

In January, seven leading journalism, media, and pro-consumer antitrust advocacy organizations – including the News/Media Alliance, National Newspaper Association, America’s Newspapers, Authors Guild, American Economic Liberties Project, Inter American Press Association, and the Radio Television Digital News Association – sent a joint letter to President Biden urging him to call on Congress to advance the JCPA. The letter outlines the plight of local news, in which news publishers have been forced to play by Big Tech’s rules of the digital advertising playing field for years, resulting in the loss of more than a quarter of U.S. newspapers since 2005 and the spread of news deserts across the country. In their letter, the groups underscore the importance of passing the JCPA as the best solution to ensuring news publishers are compensated fairly for use of their content by the dominant tech platforms.

In addition, over 24,000 individuals have signed a Change.org petition for the bill and over 1,000 editorials and op-eds in support of the JCPA have been published in newspapers in 48 states across the country. In a poll of 1,000 U.S. adults conducted last spring by Schoen Cooperman Research for the News/Media Alliance, 70 percent of Americans said they support Congress passing the JCPA.

Claims made about the bill by the opposition are unfounded and not supported by the text of the legislation. Under the JCPA, jobs will be created; news outlets will publicly disclose funds received and how it is spent; payment will not be required for links; and platforms will not be forced to carry extreme content. The JCPA will lead to open and vetted compensation for digital journalism outlets for the fair market value the platforms receive. The Myths and Facts around these claims are important to honest and productive discourse.

The Alliance thanks Senator Klobuchar, Senator Kennedy, and all of the co-sponsors of this bill for their leadership in pursuing this legislation and for their commitment to a free press.

The markup proceedings can be viewed here.

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The News/Media Alliance is a nonprofit organization representing more than 2,000 news and magazine media organizations and their multiplatform businesses in the United States and globally. Alliance members include print and digital publishers of original journalism. Headquartered just outside Washington, D.C., the association focuses on ensuring the future of journalism through communication, research, advocacy, and innovation. Information about the News/Media Alliance can be found at www.newsmediaalliance.org.

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Meta’s threat to take down news is undemocratic and unbecoming. We have seen this in their playbook before and they have been publicly admonished in other countries for this behavior, including Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau who criticized Meta’s threats, stating that it showed how “deeply irresponsible and out of touch they are.” As the tech platforms compensate news publishers around the world, it demonstrates there is a demand and economic value for news. These threats were attempted before when the Australian government passed a similar law to compensate news outlets and faced substantial public backlash. The Australian law resulted in countless jobs for local journalists and $140 million to news outlets,  Moreover, stating the CJPA funds would go to “slush funds” is blatantly false. Under the bill, 70 percent of funds must go to journalism jobs. This is why the Media Guild of the West voted unanimously to support the bill.

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Danielle Coffey

Arlington, VA – The News/Media Alliance, a nonprofit trade association representing approximately 2,000 print and digital news and magazine media companies in the United States and Canada, today announced it has selected Danielle Coffey as its new President & Chief Executive Officer. Coffey, who currently serves as the Alliance’s Executive Vice President and General Counsel, will begin in her new role on June 1, 2023.

Since joining the Alliance in 2015, Coffey has led the organization’s advocacy and strategy initiatives with a focus on the digital future for news, including spearheading the introduction of key legislation and advocating for a more favorable regulatory environment. Namely, she has led the effort on advancing legislation that would require Big Tech platforms to fairly compensate news publishers for use of their content.

Prior to her role at the News/Media Alliance, Coffey was Vice President and General Counsel for the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), where she led advocacy efforts on issues that affected the internet ecosystem, broadband deployment, content regulation and international trade. She was responsible for informing and educating government representatives about member companies’ technologies and advocated for policies that facilitate innovation.

Coffey said, “It will be an honor to lead this organization and this industry towards a strong and thriving future. I see tremendous opportunity for our expanded membership that now includes news publishers, magazines, and digital publications.  Our contributions to enriching society and democracy are limitless. I am deeply grateful to the Board of Directors for entrusting me to take on this role, and look forward to working with them, the Alliance team, and our affiliate organization the American Press Institute (API), to achieve many great things together.”

“Danielle’s passion for the news industry, and for local journalism in particular, coupled with her policy expertise have proven an enormous advantage for the News/Media Alliance’s advocacy efforts on behalf of our member organizations,” said Maribel Perez Wadsworth, News/Media Alliance board chair. “Additionally, Danielle’s deep knowledge of our members and industry will provide strong momentum around critical priorities, including a laser focus on passage of the Journalism Competition & Preservation Act.”

Coffey is a graduate of San Diego State University. She earned her JD from the Catholic University Law School, with a specialization in Communications Law. She serves on the board of directors of the National Press Club Journalism Institute (NPCJI).

Over the last several years, the News/Media Alliance has led critical advocacy efforts, research, communications and events on behalf of publishers of high-quality journalism, which is critical to a strong and informed society in which government officials are held to account. In addition to the Journalism Competition & Preservation Act (JCPA), the Alliance produces integral industry and audience research that helps news and magazine publishers identify and implement novel approaches to help grow revenue and subscriptions, including the recently released Magazine Media Factbook (previously a product of MPA – the Association of Magazine Publishers, which merged with the News Media Alliance last July) and research on news consumption preferences of Gen Z. In addition, the Alliance has developed multimedia resources for news and magazine publishers, including its News Take podcast, and works with various industry partners to provide tools and resources to help publishers navigate important public policy issues, including postal rates and First Amendment/journalist protection, copyright, privacy, and ad tech, among other issues.

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Media Contact:
Lindsey Loving
Director, Communications
lindsey@newsmediaalliance.org

The News/Media Alliance is a nonprofit organization representing more than 2,000 news and magazine media organizations and their multiplatform businesses in the United States and globally. Alliance members include print and digital publishers of original journalism. Headquartered just outside Washington, D.C., the association focuses on ensuring the future of journalism through communication, research, advocacy, and innovation. Information about the News/Media Alliance can be found at www.newsmediaalliance.org.

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