Important developments for news producers

By KEN ESTEN COOKE, TPA President 2023-24

Two important developments surfaced recently which are huge for our newspaper industry.

Before we get to those, let’s celebrate our recent wins in the Texas Legislature. We had some minor setbacks, but thanks to the diligence of the TPA staff and our members who testified, we beat back a lot of bad legislation. A list of wins and losses can be found in the July Texas Press Messenger or online at www.texaspress.com/2023-session-one-toughest-most-successful.

Additionally, thanks to all TPA members who signed up for and are regularly using the Column software to post legal notices. It is important that all our members participate to show lawmakers we are making the transition to digital, as state law will require as of Sept. 1.

On to the big picture and big lawsuit efforts in the news industry.

First, the Canadian Senate passed a bill stating Google and Facebook must pay for use of shared or repurposed content from news publishers. That duopoly controls 60-90% of the digital advertising market. They are irreparably harming our industry and don’t seem to realize that local news goes away without local advertising revenue.

Secondly, Gannett, the largest newspaper company in the country, has sued Google, alleging monopolistic practices.

Gannett has done so in part because of the digital marketing system that Google has created and exploited. They are the creator, buyer and seller of digital marketing. The suit accuses the tech behemoth of controlling almost the entire system and rigging it for its own benefit while monetizing content of news publishers and hobbling the publishers’ ability to create revenue from their content by themselves.

Facebook and Google have stated the companies will remove news from its feeds. That’s an irresponsible tactic. Doing so would mean an even clearer runway for misinformation and lies.

Our news — the commodity we produce — is sought after, and it provides a balance from the misinformation and fake news that pervade these platforms. Trusted news outlets do far more for Facebook and Google than just ask for compensation for our work. We legitimize their platforms.

Neither of these companies actively post our content — but their users do. And both companies then monetize our content by selling ads around it. They can also manipulate their algorithms to keep our content from showing up as high as it would otherwise in search results.

I support these efforts. Our news is our product. Google and Facebook have had a free ride off our copyrighted material for long enough. If we purchased candy bars, put our own wrapper around them and then resold them, we’d hear from Mr. Hershey’s attorneys very soon.

If songwriters, performers and book authors can be compensated for their works in digital formats, why can’t news publishers? Our work is more important to American democracy than the compensation Harry Styles will receive from Spotify, but we’ve been left out of the picture.

Lastly, let’s also support the bipartisan group of lawmakers trying to pass the freshly filed Community News and Small Business Support Act in the U.S. House of Representatives. This bill, formerly known as the Local Journalism Sustainability Act, would provide a tax credit for small businesses that advertise with local news outlets and a refundable payroll tax credit for hiring and retaining local reporters and editors.

All these developments give me optimism. We’ve weathered tough times, but there are some good things on the horizon. Keep on keeping on, news industry friends.