I just got back from a week in Washington, D.C., where I lobbied for laws to save journalism in our country.
Journalism is dying in the United States. There are half as many journalists today compared to 20 years ago.
Now you can say we’re all journalists today, since anybody can post their opinion on social media and reach thousands, even millions, of people.
But that’s like saying there are a hundred million doctors in the U. S. since we can all go online and learn about anything that ails us. It’s not the same.
For the last 100 years, almost every college and university has had a journalism program where students can learn the profession of journalism. It may look easy, but it’s not. Real journalism just doesn’t happen magically. It takes training, skill and work.
The journalism that is dying most rapidly is local journalism. National journalism still has the economies of scale to be economically viable. The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Fox News have adapted to the new digital landscape and are surviving, even thriving.
State journalism is hanging in there, thanks to generous billionaires. Here in Mississippi, Mississippi Today and the Magnolia Tribune are supported by charity.
It’s local journalism that’s most at threat. Already, a quarter of our country is in what’s called a “news desert” where there is no local news.
I’m talking about the basics here, having a trained reporter attend the local board of supervisors or city council meeting and report clearly, objectively and concisely about what went on. I’m talking about coverage of the garbage contract, local burglaries, the football games, weddings, obits — all the basics that go into local news, news that is part of the fabric that binds a local community together.
So what happened? In a word, Congress screwed up and passed a horrible law that has destroyed American journalism. It’s a classic example of the law of unintended consequences.
In 1995, Congress passed the Communications Act. In it was Section 230 which gave Internet platforms legal immunity from libel and slander laws. The exemption was designed to help the tiny Internet get off the ground.
Well, it got off the ground all right. Congress created a monster, which has devoured local journalism. And that’s just part of the disaster. By allowing libelous and slanderous rumors to run rampant with no accountability, Congress has altered the collective conscience of our nation. The riot of January 6 is just one of many manifestations of this chaos.
Libel and slander common law goes back 700 years. Never has a publishing platform been exempted from its laws, and for good reason.
I am legally accountable for every word in the Northside Sun newspaper, as is every other publisher or broadcast station or any traditional media.
I am not just responsible for what I write. I am responsible for every letter to the editor, every ad, every guest column. As a result, what is published in the Northside Sun is legitimate, true and responsible. Not so for Google and Facebook.
As if this wasn’t enough, the U. S. copyright laws have an exemption called “fair use” which allows the Internet platform to put our photos and headlines on their platforms for free. This exemption never envisioned the massive online theft of publishers’ content by Google and Facebook. Their web crawlers are stealing our headlines and photos and we have no legal recourse.
The Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA) is designed to rectify this unfairness. It’s similar to what the music industry has negotiated for musicians. Spotify and other music aggregators must pay royalties.
The JCPA has passed the Senate Judiciary Committee three times. The last time by a 14-7 favorable vote. But each time it comes before Congress, Google and Facebook galvanize their army of lobbyists to kill the bill. It’s scary to watch.
It is a danger to the United States to allow this kind of consolidation of power, especially power over news and information. Without passage of the JCPA, this consolidation will continue. It was Thomas Jefferson who said a free press was fundamental to a free government.
The JCPA would give small newspapers under 750 employees the right to collectively negotiate with Google and Facebook. We would need a temporary antitrust exemption to do so.
Here’s what’s crazy. All the little newspapers combined are still just a tenth of one percent as big as Google and Facebook have become. Yet it is the newspapers that are restricted by our antitrust laws, not Google and Facebook. You can’t make this stuff up!
The JCPA would force Google and Facebook to negotiate with newspapers for reimbursements for the value of their local content which appears on their platforms. If the negotiations fail, a federal arbitrator would structure a fair deal.
A big shout out to Senator Roger Wicker who is a sponsor of the JCPA along with 20 other senators. The JCPA has bipartisan support and would not cost taxpayers a dime.
When our Mississippi newspaper delegation met with Wicker in his office in D.C. he seemed as frustrated as we were about the lack of progress. “How do we get this done,” he wanted to know.
We met for 30 minutes with Cindy Hyde-Smith. She seemed supportive and we hope she will join Wicker as a co-sponsor. Congressman Michael Guest was also very supportive, as was the staff of Congressman Trent Kelly.
I report on this because it concerns the readers of our newspapers. We know you rely on us to provide real community journalism. We are trying our best, but with Google and Facebook capturing 80 percent of the ad revenues, revenues that once went to us, it is extremely difficult to do our jobs. Pray for local journalism and press freedom.
Once in D.C. I realized it had been over a decade since I last visited. I was amazed at the magnitude of the buildings. It seems every agency and national organization had a Greek-styled block-long structure. D.C. is the new Paris, with grand buildings, magnificent (free) museums and even outdoor cafes.
D. C. has such an international feel. The cultural variety of the people on the streets was noticeable. The streets abounded with tourists and vibrant freedom.
Let’s keep it that way.
