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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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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“We are very pleased Senators Feinstein, Hirono and King have joined in support of the JCPA, and we applaud them for their commitment to sustaining high-quality journalism. Publishers must be compensated by the Big Tech platforms for use of their valuable content, and the JCPA will ensure they receive the compensation they need and deserve to be able to continue providing the important news and content that supports a strong and informed society. We look forward to working with all of the co-Sponsors to advance the JCPA toward becoming law.”

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Arlington, VA – Nine leading media and journalism organizations on Tuesday sent a joint letter to the White House calling on the Biden Administration to pass the bipartisan Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA) (S. 673 and H.R. 1735). The JCPA would allow local news publishers to come together to collectively negotiate with Google and Facebook for fair compensation for use of their content, as small and local publishers currently do not have the ability to negotiate these deals on their own, as the dominant tech platforms capture the majority of U.S. digital ad revenue, leaving local publishers with little to reinvest in the production of high-quality journalism.

The organizations that signed on to the letter include the American Economic Liberties Project, Alliance for Audited Media, Authors Guild, California Black Media, Ethnic Media Services, Main Street Alliance, National Press Photographers Association (NPPA), News/Media Alliance, Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA), and the Revolving Door Project.

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. The groups in their letter 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. Attackers of the bill have claimed that it would create a link tax and break the Internet. However, similar legislation has been in place in Australia for nearly two years and no such thing has happened. Instead, news publishers in Australia are finally being sustained and hiring journalists again.

The Senate Judiciary Committee completed its bipartisan markup of the JCPA in September. The bill has broad support, not only in Congress where it has strong support in both the House and the Senate (on both sides of the aisle – including 79 total co-sponsors), but also from over 300 consumer interest groups, unions, conservatives, advocacy groups and third-party organizations that have shown support for the JCPA by sending letters of support to the bill sponsors. In addition, nearly 24,000 individuals have signed a Change.org petition for the bill and nearly 1,000 editorials in support of the JCPA have been published in newspapers in 48 states across the country. In a recent poll of 1,000 U.S. adults conducted by Schoen Cooperman Research for the News/Media Alliance, 70 percent of Americans said they support Congress passing the JCPA.

“While news publishers struggle to survive, Big Tech’s anticompetitive practices are actually being protected by current antitrust laws, to the extent that it is a stranglehold on local news outlets and other online businesses,” said Danielle Coffey, Executive Vice President and General Counsel at the News/Media Alliance. “The time is now for Congress to pass the JCPA and for President Biden to sign the bill into law. We need local news publishers to ensure a strong and informed democracy, and right now they need a lifeline. The JCPA is that lifeline.”

The Alliance thanks the many co-sponsors of the bill for their leadership in pursuing this legislation and for their commitment to sustaining quality journalism.

View the joint letter here.

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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.

The post Journalism and Media Organizations Call on White House to Support Local Journalism, Pass the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

After incorporating several amendments, the Committee ultimately voted to report the JCPA out favorably and send the bill to the Senate floor.

“We applaud Senators Klobuchar, Kennedy, Durbin and Grassley for their support of the JCPA and their dedication to sustaining quality journalism. Today’s markup and vote was a major step towards getting small and local news publishers the fair compensation they deserve for their content,” said News/Media Alliance President & CEO David Chavern. “We thank Chairman Nadler, Chairman Cicilline, and Ranking Member Buck for their support for local journalism and call on Chairman Nadler to bring the bill before the House Judiciary Committee for a vote next week, likely the last opportunity to move the JCPA out of Committee before the midterm elections.”

The Alliance thanks the many co-sponsors of the bill for their leadership in pursuing this legislation and for their commitment to sustaining quality journalism.

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There was broad agreement voiced by members of the Committee that something must be done to solve the imbalance between Big Tech and local news, with healthy debate around how to best address the market imbalance in which the tech platforms create their own, selfishly motivated rules for the online marketplace around speech and compensation to publishers.

Though progress was being made during the markup and the bill sponsors successfully navigated several proposed amendments, debate was held to reconcile an amendment raised.

“Today’s Senate Judiciary Committee markup showcased the many ways in which Google and Facebook have used and abused news publishers and been allowed to profit from their content,” said News/Media Alliance President & CEO, David Chavern. “We applaud Senators Klobuchar, Kennedy, Durbin, and Grassley for their leadership in throwing a lifeline to local news, and we encourage the Committee to resume debate expeditiously and ultimately pass the bill.”

The JCPA has broad support, not only in Congress where it has strong support in both the House and the Senate (on both sides of the aisle – including 79 total co-sponsors), but also from 215 consumer interest groups, unions, conservatives, advocacy groups and third-party organizations that have shown support for the JCPA by sending letters of support to the bill sponsors. In addition, nearly 24,000 individuals have signed a Change.org petition for the bill and nearly 1,000 editorials in support of the JCPA have been published in newspapers in 48 states across the country. In a recent poll of 1,000 U.S. adults conducted by Schoen Cooperman Research for the News/Media Alliance, 70 percent of Americans said they support Congress passing the JCPA.

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Claims made by the opposition are wholly unfounded and are not supported by the text of the legislation. The Myths and Facts around these claims are important to honest and productive discourse. Jobs will be created; news outlets will publicly disclose funds received and how it is spent; there is no payment required for links of any sort; and extreme content already exists and is currently paid for by Google and Facebook with no public transparency, while traditional local newspapers are being left behind. According to an article just published by The Wall Street Journal, marketplace arrangements are not the answer. The JCPA will lead to open and vetted compensation for news outlets for the fair market value the platforms receive.

The JCPA has broad support, not only in Congress where it has strong support in both the House and the Senate (on both sides of the aisle – including 79 total co-sponsors), but also from 215 consumer interest groups, unions, conservatives, advocacy groups and third-party organizations that have shown support for the JCPA by sending letters of support to the bill sponsors. In addition, nearly 24,000 individuals have signed a Change.org petition for the bill and nearly 1,000 editorials in support of the JCPA have been published in newspapers in 48 states across the country. In a recent poll of 1,000 U.S. adults conducted by Schoen Cooperman Research for the News/Media Alliance, 70 percent of Americans said they support Congress passing the JCPA.

The Alliance thanks the many co-sponsors of the bill for their leadership in pursuing this legislation and for their commitment to sustaining quality journalism.

“For too long, the tech platforms have used – and profited from – news content without paying the creators of that content, which has done serious damage to high-quality journalism. This is our chance to fix the source of that damage, with meaningful legislation that will level the playing field and flow revenue back to the original creators,” said News/Media Alliance President & CEO David Chavern. “We applaud Chairwoman Klobuchar, Senator Kennedy, Chairman Cicilline, and Ranking Member Buck for their ardent commitment to journalism and steadfast support of the JCPA, and we look forward to the Senate Judiciary Committee’s markup leading to a vote and passage of this critical legislation for local news publishers across our country.”

The markup proceedings can be viewed live here.

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

The post Statement: News/Media Alliance Applauds Bipartisan Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA), to be Voted On at Senate Markup Tomorrow appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

The JCPA would allow local news publishers to come together to collectively negotiate with the Big Tech platforms, such as Google and Facebook, for fair compensation for use of their content. Currently, small and local publishers do not have the ability to negotiate these deals on their own, as the dominant tech platforms capture the majority of U.S. digital ad revenue, leaving local publishers with little to reinvest in the production of high-quality journalism.

News/Media Alliance President & CEO David Chavern said, “We applaud Chairwoman Klobuchar, Senator Kennedy, Chairman Cicilline, and Ranking Member Buck for their leadership in progressing the JCPA and for their hard work and dedication to fighting for the future of local journalism through pursuing fair and just compensation for news publishers. The time to act is now.”

The JCPA has broad support, not only in Congress where it has strong support in both the House and the Senate (on both sides of the aisle – including 79 total co-sponsors), but also from 215 consumer interest groups, unions, conservatives, advocacy groups and third-party organizations that have shown support for the JCPA by sending letters of support to the bill sponsors. In addition, nearly 24,000 individuals have signed a Change.org petition for the bill and nearly 1,000 editorials in support of the JCPA have been published in newspapers in 48 states across the country. In a recent poll of 1,000 U.S. adults conducted by Schoen Cooperman Research for the News/Media Alliance, 70 percent of Americans said they support Congress passing the JCPA.

The Alliance thanks the many co-sponsors of the bill for their leadership in pursuing this legislation and for their commitment to sustaining quality journalism.

View the joint House and Senate press release on the release of the bill text here.

Click here to view a full list of third-party support organizations and bill co-sponsors.

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

The post Statement: News/Media Alliance Applauds Text Release of Journalism Competition & Preservation Act, Forthcoming Markup in Senate appeared first on News/Media Alliance.