“It is more important than ever to protect quality journalism that is independent both from government and from powerful Silicon Valley companies,” a coalition of center-right publishers wrote in a letter to the bill’s original sponsors. “We urge you to support the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act.”

The JCPA is designed to level the playing field between Big Tech and small and local publishers by allowing them to collectively negotiate for fair compensation for the use of their content. The Senate text of the bill was released Monday and was listed on the agenda for Senate Judiciary Committee for markup in September and its supporters are urging Congress – specifically the bill’s lead co-sponsors Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and John Kennedy (R-LA) and Reps. David Cicilline (D-RI) and Ken Buck (R-CO) – to initiate a markup of the bill and accelerate its passage in the House of Representatives and Senate.

These publishers are in tune with Republican voters, who, according to pollsters Echelon Insights, support the goals of the JCPA. Their poll found that 76 percent of Republicans agree that Big Tech should not be allowed to profit off content from news publishers without fair compensation.”

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BACKGROUND

“It is more important than ever to protect quality journalism that is independent both from government and from powerful Silicon Valley companies. We urge you to support the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act.” – Coalition of conservative publishers, including from Newsmax, Washington Times, Redstate.com, Salem Media Group, Washington Examiner, the Daily Caller, and more

[The] “JCPA provides a remedy by permitting a coalition of publishers to negotiate a deal to receive fair compensation for their original and valuable news content. … The Journalism Competition and Preservation Act is the kind of legislation that Republicans and Democrats alike can and should get behind. … There is a shared interest in preserving a free and diverse press.” – Christopher Ruddy, CEO of Newsmax Media, Inc.

“76% agree that Big Tech should not be allowed to profit off content from news publishers without fair compensation and 74% agree that Big Tech should be required to offer the same compensation terms to local, conservative, and national news organizations.” – Echelon Insights poll of Republican voters

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Arlington, VA – Today, hundreds of local and regional newspapers across the country launched the “Don’t Let Big Tech Cancel Local News” ad campaign in support of the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA).

The JCPA, a bill being considered in Congress, is designed to level the playing field between Big Tech and small and local publishers by allowing them to collectively negotiate for fair compensation for the use of their content. The nationwide campaign comes amid speculation that the JCPA legislative text will be released in the coming days and its supporters are urging Congress – specifically the bill’s lead co-sponsors Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and John Kennedy (R-LA) and Reps. David Cicilline (D-RI) and Ken Buck (R-CO) – to initiate a markup of the bill and accelerate its passage in the House of Representatives and Senate.

“This is a critical time for the JCPA. We thank our sponsors for their leadership on this important bill, but the time to act is now,” said News/Media Alliance President and CEO David Chavern.

The campaign contains information on how readers can contact their Members of Congress to ask them to move forward on a markup for JCPA, including a QR code links to a page where readers can send emails and a phone number for constituents to call their representatives directly.

Since the JCPA was introduced last year, the bill has amassed 10 co-sponsors in the Senate and 63 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives. The bill has bipartisan support in Congress, and a recent poll showed that a strong majority of the American public support Congress passing the JCPA (70%). The time is now. Congress must act.

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Media Contact:
Lindsey Loving
Director, Communications
News/Media Alliance
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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Journalism Competition & Preservation Act would allow news publishers to negotiate for fair compensation from the tech platforms

Arlington, VA – Today the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights will hold a hearing at 3:00 p.m. ET, “Breaking the News – Journalism, Competition, and the Effects of Market Power on a Free Press,” on the impact of the dominant tech platforms, such as Facebook and Google, on the ability to sustain high-quality journalism and the need for legislation to ensure the platforms provide news publishers fair compensation for use of their online content.

Witnesses scheduled to testify at the hearing include Jennifer Bertetto, president & CEO of Trib Total Media in Greensburg, PA (written testimony here); Hal Singer, economist and antitrust expert (written testimony here); and Joel Oxley, senior vice president and general manager of WTOP and Federal News Radio.

Last March, Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Chair Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Senator John N. Kennedy (R-LA) reintroduced the Journalism Competition & Preservation Act (JCPA) in the Senate, which would provide a limited antitrust safe harbor for news publishers to collectively negotiate with the platforms for fair compensation for the use of their content. An identical bill was introduced concurrently in the House by House Antitrust Chairman David Cicilline (D-RI) and Ranking Member Ken Buck (R-CO).

News Media Alliance President & CEO, David Chavern, stated, “We applaud the Senate Judiciary Committee for holding this hearing and recognizing the urgent need to address the local news crisis. We need trusted sources of journalism now more than ever. Currently, the dominant tech platforms set the rules, using news publishers’ content without providing appropriate compensation, while taking the majority of digital advertising revenue in the U.S. This is revenue that news publishers need to reinvest in providing quality journalism. Now is the time to act, and we believe the Journalism Competition & Preservation Act is the solution that will help sustain high-quality journalism and therefore our civic society.”

Current antitrust laws prohibit news publishers from taking collective action by negotiating with the large online platforms for fair compensation for all news publishers – large and small – across the board. This legislation would provide news publishers with a limited opportunity to negotiate together and to withhold content from the online platforms during the negotiations, while presenting a sensible, market-based solution to a major threat to the future of high-quality journalism.

Managing Director of Econ One, Hal Singer, said, “The reason Google scrapes, indexes and posts news publisher content for free is because it can. It’s like some bully coming into your house and taking your lunch. As long as market forces are allowed to dictate the payments for accessing news publisher content, the access price will remain at zero, and news publishers will be deprived of billions of dollars per year of value created for the platforms.”

“While Google and Facebook earn record profits year after year, their monopolistic behavior has led to downsized or shuttered newsrooms across America. Even with our restructuring and enhanced digital offerings, it was not enough to level the playing field,” said Jennifer Bertetto, President and CEO of Trib Total Media. “The Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA) would allow news publishers – irrespective of size or political persuasion – to jointly negotiate with the platforms for fair compensation for the use of our content. The JCPA would give my company – a small, regionally-focused publisher – what we don’t have today: a seat at the table.”

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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 organizations and their multiplatform businesses in the United States and globally. Alliance members include print, digital and mobile publishers of original news content. Headquartered just outside Washington, D.C., the association focuses on ensuring the future of news media through communication, research, advocacy and innovation. Information about the News Media Alliance (formerly NAA) can be found at www.newsmediaalliance.org.

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In October, House Antitrust Chairman David Cicilline (D-RI) and the Democratic Majority of the House Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law released a report on the anticompetitive behavior of the big tech platforms, which resulted in the antitrust bills (link to bills) that will be marked up in the House Judiciary Committee this week. The Report also referenced the News Media Alliance White Paper, “How Google Abuses Its Position as a Market Dominant Platform to Strong-Arm News Publishers and Hurt Journalism,” which outlines several of the ways in which Google uses news content to its advantage across its products and services.

The House Majority Report also recommends passing the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, which will allow for the fair exchange of value for quality journalism that is extracted and monetized by the tech platforms.

Alliance President and CEO, David Chavern, stated, “The anticompetitive conduct of the dominant tech platforms can’t be ignored and is a testament to the critical need to correct the glaring imbalance in the marketplace. We applaud the House Judiciary Committee’s attention to these very important issues that cause consumer harm across our country.”

In March, Chairman Cicilline, Ranking Member Ken Buck (R-CO), Senate Antitrust Chairwoman Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Senator John N. Kennedy (R-LA), reintroduced the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA), which would grant news publishers the ability to collectively negotiate with the dominant tech platforms for fair compensation for use of their content. The News Media Alliance is strongly advocating for the JCPA.

Chavern continued, “Both short- and long-term solutions are needed, and we applaud Chairman Cicilline, Chairwoman Klobuchar, the Department of Justice, state Attorneys General, and other supporters who are continuing to push for a fair and competitive digital landscape that rewards the producers of original content, both now and in the future.

“Local news is more important than ever, but without a fair deal from the tech platforms, we can’t continue to invest in providing the public with high-quality journalism critical to our democracy.”

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Remarks to include discussion of dominant tech platforms’ impact on the sustainability of quality journalism and the need for legislation that ensures fair compensation

Arlington, VA – The News Media Alliance will testify today at 10:00 a.m. ET at a House Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law Subcommittee hearing, “Reviving Competition, Part 2: Saving the Free and Diverse Press,” on the need for the dominant tech platforms, such as Facebook and Google, to compensate news publishers fairly for use of their content. The Alliance submitted written testimony yesterday, ahead of the hearing. A statement for the record by Maribel Perez Wadsworth, President of News for Gannett Media and Publisher of USA TODAY, can also be found here.

Alliance President & CEO, David Chavern, will testify at the hearing, as well as Brad Smith, President of Microsoft; Emily Barr, CEO of Graham Media; Jonathan Schleuss, President of the NewsGuild-Communications Workers of America; Glenn Greenwald, Journalist and Constitutional Lawyer; and Clay Travis, Founder of Outkick Media.

On Wednesday, House Antitrust Chairman David Cicilline (D-RI) and Ranking Member Ken Buck (R-CO) reintroduced the Journalism Competition & Preservation Act in the House, which would provide a limited antitrust safe harbor for news publishers to collectively negotiate with the platforms for fair compensation for the use of their content. An identical bill was also introduced Wednesday in the Senate by Antitrust Subcommittee Chair Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Senator John N. Kennedy (R-LA).

Members of Congress are also considering more comprehensive solutions to strengthen the bill. These options could include a mechanism to ensure equitable terms are offered to all news publishers, small and large, and an oversight mechanism to ensure the platforms participate in good faith.

News Media Alliance President & CEO David Chavern stated, “We are encouraged by the recent developments in Australia and Europe and that new compensation systems for publishers are gaining support here in the U.S. Quality journalism is key to sustaining civic society, and we must ensure that the digital ecosystem returns value back to the people who create that journalism. The cost of inaction is clearer than ever, as we’ve seen that in the absence of news, misinformation and hate speech run rampant and unchecked. We need trusted sources of journalism – particularly local and community publishers – now more than ever, but without at least an antitrust safe harbor, news publishers will have no capacity to collectively fight for their futures.”

Current laws prohibit news publishers from taking collective action by negotiating with the large online platforms for fair compensation for all news publishers – large and small – across the board. This legislation would provide news publishers with a limited opportunity to negotiate together and to withhold content from the online platforms during the negotiations, while presenting a sensible, market-based solution to a major threat to the future of high-quality journalism.

The Alliance applauds Reps. Cicilline and Buck and Sens. Klobuchar and Kennedy for their leadership in support of local news and looks forward to working with them on ways to further strengthen the bill to ensure equitable terms and fair compensation for the valuable content being produced by all news publishers, including small and local.

The world is moving toward a new and more equitable compensation system for publishers and that basic idea now has wide support across the political spectrum and is the cornerstone of all comprehensive solutions. News publishers’ ability to build a sustainable digital future for journalism will depend, in large part, on their ability to get fair compensation from Facebook and Google. Quality journalism supports democracy and it is more important than ever to ask our elected representatives to support legislation that brings value back to those who create journalism.

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Media contact:
Lindsey Loving
Director, Communications
lindsey@newsmediaalliance.org
571.366.1009

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

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