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The Internet that Silicon Valley promised us was supposed to be a haven for new ideas, a haven for powerful speech and the flow of information. Instead, the Internet we’ve found is dominated by a handful of Big Tech companies with unprecedented power over every aspect of our lives.
While Google and Facebook are raking in billions of dollars in ad revenue, the small, local and independent media companies that produce the content that fuels these platforms must struggle to eliminate waste. Big Tech does everything it can to ensure that its users never leave the platform for other sites – depriving small and local publishers of the opportunity to monetize their content. In my state of Colorado, 59% of residents get their news from Facebook and 44% of residents use Google as their primary news source.
As a result, small, local, and independent publishers are closing their doors, and companies that don’t conform to the ideology of the Silicon Valley elite that founded these tech giants are punished and censored. Local newspapers in the US are dying twice a week, with 360 closings since the end of 2019, according to recent reports.
Big Tech’s suppression of local news is important because Americans trust their local news — 73% of American adults surveyed by the Poynter Media Trust Survey say they trust their local newspaper, compared to 55% for national network news stations. What’s more, local news helps keep our communities connected by documenting events that are closest to us, our friends and our families. It can present different ideas and opinions that are not explored by the mainstream corporate media.
News publishers employ 9,560 Colorado reporters and newsroom staff, according to data from the News/Media Alliance. Big Tech ad tech takes 50%-70% of every advertising dollar from news publishers while hiring zero reporters. Local papers can hire more reporters if Big Tech pays them for the quality journalism that fuels their platform and profits.
Fortunately, several bipartisan solutions being strengthened in Congress are designed to curb Big Tech’s overreach. The Journalism Competition and Protection Act (JCPA) is one of the most promising pieces of legislation.
The JCPA is designed to address the unprecedented assault on the free press and free speech by allowing small, local and independent news publishers to better negotiate with Big Tech (especially Google and Facebook) to use their content.
More importantly, the JCPA prohibits viewpoint discrimination, meaning that Big Tech forums cannot exclude publications with conservative editorial pages, such as the Washington Examiner and others.
News publishers have been forced to cut one-to-one deals with Facebook and Google because of antitrust laws. The bill removes legal barriers to news organizations being able to bargain collectively and secure fair contracts.
Hundreds of small, local and independent news publishers from across the political spectrum support the JCPA. A recent poll by the News/Media Alliance found that 70% of Americans believe it is important for Congress to pass the JCPA, and more than two-thirds (67%) of Republican respondents agree that elected officials who oppose the JCPA should allow Big Tech. Instead of arming yourself to fight the local media, have all the power to negotiate.
The JCPA is an important first step in combating Big Tech’s anti-competitive practices, and it’s a bill that both Republicans and Democrats can support. Small, local publishers work hard to report the news and cover their communities, but Big Tech profits from their work. This is fundamentally unfair, and the JCPA will bring much-needed change.
Contact your member of Congress to support the JCPA and make sure Big Tech doesn’t cancel local news.
Christopher P. Ree is president and CEO of Clarity Media Group, publisher of The Colorado Springs Gazette, The Denver Post and The Washington Examiner. He is the former president of the National Association of American Newspapers, the leading national association of more than 1,600 online and print newspapers.
Christopher P. Ree is president and CEO of Clarity Media Group, publisher of The Colorado Springs Gazette, The Denver Post and The Washington Examiner. He is the former president of the National Association of American Newspapers, the leading national association of more than 1,600 online and print newspapers.
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