News/Media Alliance President & CEO, Danielle Coffey stated, “We applaud Reps. Tenney and DelBene for introducing the Community News and Small Business Support Act and putting the needs of local communities first by supporting local news publishers, who provide critical journalism and information to Americans across the country. Without vital support such as tax credits for publishers and local businesses, publishers will not have the resources to continue investing in providing news and news deserts will continue to grow, making quality local journalism increasingly inaccessible to those who need it and allowing harmful mis- and disinformation to promulgate.”

###

The post Statement: Community News and Small Business Support Act Introduced in House appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

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.

###

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.

The post Newspapers Nationwide Run Coordinated Ad Campaign, Urge Congress to Pass JCPA appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

The News Media Alliance supports the efforts by these congressional leaders to bring to light anticompetitive behaviors undertaken by the big tech platforms, particularly as they are harming news publishers and high-quality journalism. Alliance President & CEO David Chavern stated, “This hearing is a rare opportunity to examine the role of dominant technology companies in our economic and civic life. We hope that the Committee will spend some of the time highlighting how some platforms – notably, Google and Facebook – are accelerating the spread of misinformation, while also undermining the businesses of quality news publishers. But more broadly, we hope that the hearing helps improve public understanding of how companies with massive and anticompetitive market positions are impeding the growth and development of our economy, rather than propelling it forward.”

Chavern testified at the first hearing in this series, held on June 11, 2019, titled, “Online Platforms and Market Power, Part 1: The Free and Diverse Press.” The Alliance, as well as most of the witnesses at that hearing, expressed support for the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, a bipartisan bill introduced in the House and the Senate last year that would allow news publishers to collectively negotiate with the online platforms. In his testimony, Chavern noted the need for a solution for sustainable journalism and that failing to take stronger action to protect news publishers across the country would pose a risk to our civic society. Most of the witnesses at the time also supported stronger antitrust scrutiny of big tech companies.

Last month, the Alliance published a White Paper, “How Google Abuses Its Position as a Market Dominant Platform to Strong-Arm News Publishers and Hurt Journalism,” which it submitted to the Department of Justice as they proceed with an investigation of Google’s anticompetitive behavior. The White Paper, which is based on more than a year of interviews and consultations with many Alliance members about their experiences with Google products, outlines several of the ways in which Google uses news content to its advantage across its products and services.

The Antitrust Subcommittee hearing will be livestreamed on Wednesday, July 29 beginning at 12:00 p.m. ET, here.

###

The post Statement: Anticompetitive Behavior by Some Big Tech Platforms Harms Quality Journalism appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

4FR / iStock/Getty Images Plus via Getty Images

As journalists are on the front lines reporting on the coronavirus crisis, as well as the public protests on our nation’s streets to call attention to systemic racism, the public’s demand for local news has never been greater. Over the last few months, local news publishers have been dealt a major blow from the contraction of the local advertising market. The Local Journalism Sustainability Act, introduced in the House of Representatives today by Representatives Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ) and Dan Newhouse (R-WA), would provide incentives in the form of tax credits for consumers to spend on subscriptions to local newspapers; businesses to spend on advertising in local news media; and news organizations to hire and retain professional journalists. This would help ensure local news publishers survive the current crises, and that they are around to cover the next ones. We applaud Representatives Kirkpatrick and Newhouse – and the bipartisan group of their colleagues who have joined them as original co-sponsors – for their leadership in helping to sustain local journalism and preventing further closings of local news publishing businesses and the growth of news deserts across the country.

The post CEO Statement: The News Media Alliance Supports the Local Journalism Sustainability Act appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

Vesnaandjic/E+/Getty Images Plus via Getty Images

Journalists perform an indispensable role in informing local community members about the events happening around them. The First Amendment protects journalists’ freedom to gather and report the news wherever it takes place publicly. Therefore, it was deeply troubling to see attacks on journalists across the country – including by law enforcement – while they were on the ground reporting on the protests following the death of George Floyd.

In response to these recent events, today Representatives Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) introduced a House Resolution reaffirming the First Amendment right to freedom of the press and calling for the protection of journalists by government officials and law enforcement.

We applaud Reps. Scanlon and Schiff for recognizing and reaffirming journalists’ Constitutional rights and calling for the protection of these journalists, who are risking their lives to bring critical news and information to the public. We are grateful to our country’s journalists for their continued commitment to delivering the truth.

The post Statement: Congressional Resolution to Protect Journalists appeared first on News/Media Alliance.