Dear Editor,
Over the past year, local journalism has been more important — and more needed — than ever. From the COVID-19 pandemic to the reignited social justice movement to the explosive 2020 U.S. presidential election and its aftermath, people have been turning to news publishers, day in and day out, to keep them up to date on how the changes happening around the world affect their daily lives. However, while news has been more in-demand than at any time in recent history, news publishers have been struggling more than ever.
Companies like Facebook and Google routinely profit off of the content produced by news publishers. The duopoly earns 70% or more of every advertising dollar spent online, leaving publishers with literal pennies to help pay for news. That imbalance is part of why the news industry has lost more than 28,000 jobs since 2008, and why 1,800 communities have lost their local newspapers since 2004. In Louisiana, 20 newspapers have shuttered since 2004, and newspaper circulation has declined by 40%. Thirty-nine parishes in the state have only one local news outlet, and two have none. Yet, Louisiana is faring better than other states.
As highlighted by recent global developments, including the European Union and Australia, the world is moving toward a new and more equitable compensation system for publishers. U.S. Sen. John N. Kennedy, R-Madisonville, has long been a champion of similar legislation in the U.S. As a co-sponsor of the “Journalism Competition and Preservation Act,” Kennedy has shown that he understands the value of quality journalism here in Louisiana — and in all 50 states — and for that, we are incredibly grateful.
Kennedy’s proposed legislation would grant news publishers a limited safe harbor to negotiate with the platforms for better business terms to support journalism. Through the safe harbor, publishers big and small would be able to join together to ask companies like Google and Facebook for revenue-sharing terms that would permit them to continue to provide their communities with the quality journalism they depend on.
It is simply not possible for most individual news publishers to challenge the basic terms offered by the online behemoths. The platforms are simply much too big and much too influential. If the safe harbor is passed, publishers would benefit from better business arrangements with the tech companies that would give us what we need most to continue to give you the news you need most.
We applaud Senator Kennedy for supporting quality journalism here in Louisiana and across the country, and we encourage the rest of Congress to sign on to the “Journalism Competition and Preservation Act” and show their support, as well.