As scrutiny into the practices of large tech firms increases, the House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee on Tuesday held a hearing on the impact platforms like Google and Facebook have on the media.
“All of these companies say the right things ー and they’ve put some charitable money behind trying to make publishers happy,” David Chavern, the president and CEO of the News Media Alliance, told Cheddar after testifying at the hearing. “We don’t need or want charity. What we want is a sustainable business relationship. And we haven’t gotten there yet.”
The News Media Alliance, formerly known as the Newspaper Association of America, is a trade association that represents about 2,000 newspapers in North America. Others who testified at the hearing included David Pitofsky, general counsel for News Corp and Sally Hubbard, the director of enforcement strategy at the Open Markets Institute.
At the hearing, lawmakers discussed the online advertising market, fact-checking, and fake news, among other topics.
Journalism, and even digital-first outlets, have for years struggled to sustain profitable business models. Outlets have typically relied on a combination of ad-revenue and subscriptions, but social media platforms and search engines, namely Facebook ($FB) and Google ($GOOGL), have forced publishers to compete with free content available across the entire internet, and not just their media peers.
Newsroom jobs have declined by nearly a quarter in the past decade, according to Pew.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that since the start of the millennium, newspaper industry jobs more broadly have been cut by half.
The power of tech platforms has motivated some politicians, and some journalists, to call for their breakup (though that may not be the only antitrust remedy available).
There’s also proposed legislation for the journalism industry specifically, titled the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, that would allow news organizations to organize collectively against large tech companies without facing pricing collusion violations themselves.
"Companies like Facebook and Google swallow up 60 percent of digital ad revenue, and so it doesn't leave much of the pie for the actual content creators, and for news publishers, which is why I got laid off in January, it's why local newspapers are going under," Laura Bassett, a former culture and political reporter for nearly 10 years at HuffPost, told Cheddar Tuesday.
The News Media Alliance has estimated that Google makes $4.7 billion from news every year, a number, which gained attention through a New York Times article just before the hearing.
But the Alliance’s calculations have faced pushback from media commentators and outlets like Nieman Lab and Intelligencer, since the eye-opening figure appears to be based on a single quote from 2008 from then Google vice president Marissa Mayer.
In an email to Cheddar, a Google spokesperson called these numbers “inaccurate” and “back of the envelope calculations.” The company argues that the study ignored what Google provides news sources, such as driving clicks ー Google says around 10 billion ー to publisher websites, which help develop outlets’ subscriptions and ad businesses.
“If you don’t like the study, there's two things that could happen. One, Google could actually — they have the information — they could reveal whatever they think the number is. Or, if somebody has a critique, talk about how else you could get at the number,” said Chavern. “But some of the critique seems to imply that we shouldn’t even ask, and I don’t get that at all.”
Members of Congress have voted to advance a bill meant to address antitrust concerns related to tech giants including Amazon, Apple, Google, and Meta. The 'American Innovation and Choice Online Act' is largely seen as one of the best chances for the government to reign in Big Tech's dominance
Seth Schachner, Managing Director StratAmericas; Digital Business Executive joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
American semiconductor company, Intel officially announcing plans to build a new $20 billion chip manufacturing complex outside Columbus, Ohio. This comes as the global chip shortage continues to hamper production of everything from smart phones, to cars. Jennifer Smith - Logistics and Supply Chain Reporter, WSJ joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
The U.S. has put more than 8,000 American troops on high alert for possible deployment to Eastern Europe as the West prepares for a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine. With Russia building up more than 100,000 troops near the Ukrainian border, concerns over the country's behavior are mounting. Joel Rubin, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and President of the Washington Strategy Group, joined Cheddar to discuss what this means for U.S.-Russia relations, and where the conflict might be heading next.
As the midterm election looms, things aren't looking too promising for President Joe Biden. One year into his term as president, Biden is facing one of the lowest approval ratings of any modern-day president, threatening his party's control of the House in 2022. Brian Bennett, Senior White House Correspondent for TIME, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
A full one year into his term as President of The United States, President Biden addressed the nation on Wednesday, facing questions on everything from inflation to chip shortages and covid-19. As Biden enters his second year in office, he is facing one of the lowest approval ratings of any modern-day president. Kate Davidson, Reporter, POLITICO joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
"Barbara Lee: Speaking Truth to Power" is the story of how the longtime House Democrat became, as she Is known to some, as "the Conscience of Congress." The film also
shows Representative Lee from her days working to fight community poverty to famously becoming the only member of Congress to vote "no" against the war in Afghanistan days after 9/11. The film is nominated for an NAACP Image Award, and Premieres on Starz on February 1. Film director Abby Ginzberg and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif. 13th District), joined Cheddar to discuss more.
San Diego has just implemented a new law that could set the stage for how the country deals with food waste. This new law hopes to make a dent in that. Businesses and groceries stores out in San Diego will need to put a plan in place to *donate edible food rather than toss it straight to the trash. Food Rescue Manager at Feeding San Diego, Kate Garret
Earlier this month, New York City experienced one of the deadliest fires it has seen in decades. 17 people lost their lives in the Fordham section of the Bronx. This was due to a faulty space heater which reportedly began on the lower floor of the 120 unit building. Thanks to the F. D. N. Y. And heroic neighbors, many were able to get out in time. Unfortunately, the toxic smoke surged upwards through a safety door. Now, many advocates say negligence by policymakers and landlords has led to the deaths in black and brown communities from fires that honestly could have been preventable. Legislative Director of Citizen Action of New York, Rebecca Garrard, and the Chair of Journalism and New Media Studies at St. Joseph's College Theodore Hamm, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
The Supreme Court has declined to order the Texas Abortion case back to the original trial judge for further proceedings. Essentially if Texas abortion providers were able to get their case back to the lower court., It would have greatly helped the group move against the law. However, this decision is likely to prolong the case legal battle. Professor and Author of "The Turnaway Study: Ten Years, a Thousand Women, and the Consequences of Having — Or Being Denied — An Abortion", Diane Foster, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
The Supreme Court rejected yet another bid by abortion providers to block Texas's law - which bans most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. This is the fourth time that advocates have tried and failed to block the most restrictive abortion ban in the country. Leah Litman, assistant professor of law at The University of Michigan and co-host of the "Strict Scrutiny" podcast, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
